Woman breaks Everest record

Hong Kong mountaineer Tsang Yin-hung has recorded the world’s fastest ascent of Everest by a woman with a time of just under 26 hours, a Nepal official said Thursday.
28 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Germany says committed genocide in Namibia

Germany for the first time yesterday recognised it had committed genocide in Namibia during its colonial occupation, with Berlin promising financial support worth more than one billion euros to aid projects in the African nation.
28 May 2021, 18:00 PM

No timeline yet for new Covid origins probe

Facing intensifying pressure for a new, more in-depth investigation of the Covid-19 pandemic origins, the World Health Organization yesterday said that it was still awaiting expert guidance.
28 May 2021, 18:00 PM

France resists more joint Nato funding

A $20 billion plan to give Nato more flexibility in facing military threats, climate change and China’s rise has hit firm resistance from France, which fears the move could undermine its defence priorities, four diplomats and a French defence source said.
28 May 2021, 18:00 PM

‘Asean opposes arms embargo’

Nine Southeast Asian countries have urged the United Nations not to endorse a freeze on arms sales to Myanmar, according to a report from Benar News.
28 May 2021, 18:00 PM

In victory for Trump, Republicans block probe of US Capitol riot

Republicans in the US Senate on Friday derailed a bipartisan inquiry into the deadly assault on the Capitol by former President Donald Trump's supporters, despite a torrent of criticism they were playing down the violence.
28 May 2021, 16:59 PM

Spain criticised for unequally priced ‘equality stamps’

Spain’s postal service is feeling a backlash from its attempt to highlight racial inequality.
28 May 2021, 13:09 PM

Philippines halts deployment of workers to Saudi Arabia

The Philippines has suspended the deployment of workers to Saudi Arabia after it received reports that their employers and recruiters were making them pay for COVID-19 testing, quarantine and insurance upon arrival in the kingdom.
28 May 2021, 12:33 PM

Belarus’ leader seeks Russia’s support amid showdown with EU

Belarus’ authoritarian leader will discuss closer economic ties with Russia on Friday, as he seeks support from his main backer amid a bruising showdown with the European Union over the forced diversion of a passenger jet to arrest a dissident journalist.
28 May 2021, 11:56 AM

Russia says US decision not to rejoin Open Skies arms pact is 'political mistake'

Russia said on Friday a US decision not to rejoin the Open Skies arms control pact, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member states, is a "political mistake" ahead of a summit between the countries' presidents.
28 May 2021, 11:17 AM

Erdogan inaugurates landmark mosque at Istanbul main square

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set on Friday to inaugurate a landmark mosque in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, fulfilling a long-time ambition to build a Muslim house of worship at the city’s main public space that has become an emblem of the modern Turkish Republic.
28 May 2021, 10:02 AM

Delhi’s monthlong lockdown to be lifted gradually from May 31: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced that process to lift the city’s month-long Covid-19 induced lockdown will start from May 31.
28 May 2021, 09:43 AM

Bribery case: Calcutta High Court grants interim bail to 4 including 2 ministers

The Calcutta High Court today granted interim bail to two West Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Subrata Mukherjee, TMC legislator Madan Mitra and former Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee arrested by Central Bureau of Investigation in Narada sting operation case relating to alleged graft.
28 May 2021, 09:33 AM

Norway's largest pension company to make $245 million 'dark green' investment

Norway's largest pension company KLP said it had teamed up with Macquarie Asset Management to invest 200 million euros ($245 million) in a new fund targeting long-term loans in "dark green" infrastructure with zero or near-zero carbon emissions.
28 May 2021, 09:14 AM

Japan set to extend COVID-19 states of emergency ahead of Games

Japan was set on Friday to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas by about three weeks to June 20 as the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of easing less than two months before the Summer Olympics open.
28 May 2021, 08:25 AM

Germany officially calls colonial-era killings in Namibia 'genocide', to fund projects worth €1.1bn

Germany on Friday apologised for its role in slaughter of Herero and Nama tribespeople in Namibia more than a century ago and officially described the massacre as genocide for the first time, as it agreed to fund projects worth over a billion euros.
28 May 2021, 07:45 AM

Drugmakers eye alternative to vaccines

Prevention is better than cure -- but when it comes to Covid, what happens when people can’t get the vaccine, don’t want it, or they’re immune suppressed and it fails to stop infection?
27 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Thousands left homeless in India

Thousands of people were homeless Thursday after a cyclone battered Covid-ravaged India, killing 4 people.
27 May 2021, 18:00 PM

Hong Kong House passes ‘patriots’ law

Hong Kong’s opposition-devoid legislature yesterday approved Beijing’s radical overhaul of the finance hub’s political system which reduces the number of directly elected seats and will freeze out most China critics.
27 May 2021, 18:00 PM

EU set to hit Belarus with new sanctions

The European Union will look at hitting Belarus’s big potash exports as well as its oil and financial sectors with new sanctions, as punishment for forcing down a Ryanair flight to arrest a journalist, foreign ministers from the bloc said.
27 May 2021, 18:00 PM