A ceremony in an ornate throne hall Thursday morning began the transfer of the remains of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej to his spectacular golden crematorium in the royal quarter of Bangkok after a year of mourning for the monarch Thais hailed as “Father.” Three separate and intensely solemn processions ... Read More »
Ocean acidification is deadly threat to marine life, finds eight-year study
Plastic pollution, overfishing, global warming and increased acidification from burning fossil fuels means oceans are increasingly hostile to marine life If the outlook for marine life was already looking bleak – torrents of plastic that can suffocate and starve fish, overfishing, diverse forms of human pollution that create ... Read More »
China Unveils New Leadership, With Xi Jinping More Powerful Than Ever
BEIJING — President Xi Jinping thrust China into a new era of strongman politics on Wednesday, unveiling a leadership team without a likely successor among the six officials who will help him rule for the next half decade. In a nationally televised ceremony, Mr. Xi introduced the new ... Read More »
Tillerson Promotes Closer Iraq-Saudi Ties
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday promoted improving ties between Saudi Arabia and Iraq as a way to counter Iran’s growing military assertiveness in the region. Tillerson, participating in the initial meeting of the Saudi Arabia-Iraq Coordination Committee in Riyadh, told Saudi King Salman and ... Read More »
El-Sissi vows to quash terrorism after police ambush
CAIRO: In his first remarks after a deadly attack on the country’s police force, Egypt’s president vowed on Sunday to press ahead with the country’s war against terrorism, secure its borders and hunt down militants. President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi’s remarks came nearly 48 hours after authorities officially announced that ... Read More »
Northern Italy regions overwhelmingly vote for greater autonomy
Voters in Veneto, which includes Venice, and Lombardy, home to Milan, back further devolution from Rome, say regional leaders Two of Italy’s wealthiest northern regions on Sunday voted overwhelmingly in favour of greater autonomy in the latest example of the powerful centrifugal forces reshaping European politics. Voters in the ... Read More »
UNICEF: Rohingya children refugees face ‘hell on earth’
GENEVA: UNICEF says the children who make up most of the nearly 600,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Myanmar are seeing a “hell on earth” in overcrowded, muddy and squalid refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. The UN children’s agency has issued a report that documents the plight of ... Read More »
Warning of ‘ecological Armageddon’ after dramatic plunge in insect numbers
Three-quarters of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany have vanished in 25 years, with serious implications for all life on Earth, scientists say The abundance of flying insects has plunged by three-quarters over the past 25 years, according to a new study that has shocked scientists. Insects are ... Read More »
Xi Jinping: China entering ‘new era’ of power amid ‘complex changes’ abroad, says Chinese Premier
‘The whole party must be prepared to make ever more difficult and harder efforts… to achieve great dreams there must be a great struggle’ Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to usher in a “new era” that will be proudly Chinese, amid “complex changes” at home and abroad. Speaking ... Read More »
Desert discovery: Lost temple of Ramses II uncovered by archaeologists
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found the remains of an ancient temple belonging the greatest, most celebrated and powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. ARCHAEOLOGISTS in Egypt have discovered the remains of an ancient temple belonging to King Ramses II — often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful ... Read More »