THERMAIC GULF, Greece: Fisherman Stefanos Sougioultzis cracks open the mussels he cultivated in Greece’s Aegean Sea only to find scores of empty shells. After a summer of scorching heat and warming waters, it was “as if they boiled in their...

BANGKOK: Even after postponing to Oct 15 the reopening of Bangkok to foreign travelers, there is a strong possibility it will be delayed further as the capital city is highly unlikely to achieve the 70 percent vaccination target for its adu...

JAKARTA: Indonesia's environment ministry said on Friday it would appeal a Jakarta court ruling that found President Joko Widodo, several ministries and top local officials guilty of environmental negligence over chronic air pollution.Rulin...

SINGAPORE: The coronavirus has made it harder for authorities to respond to disasters caused by extreme weather fuelled by climate change, with more severe storms, floods and heatwaves affecting nearly 140 million people around the world, a...

AMBOASARY, Madagascar: Nothing to eat, nothing to plant. The last rain in Ifotaka fell in May, for two hours.Across Madagascar's vast southern tip, drought has transformed fields into dust bowls. More than one million people face famine.Acr...

MOSCOW: Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's 'Smart Voting' app disappeared from Apple and Google stores as Russians began voting Friday in a three-day parliamentary election marked by a historic crackdown on the opposition.“Removing the...

LOS ANGELES: The world's biggest trees were being wrapped in fire-proof blankets Thursday in an effort to protect them from huge blazes tearing through the drought-stricken western United States.A grove of ancient sequoias, including the 27...

BEIJING: Chinese astronauts returned to earth Friday after completing the country’s longest-ever crewed mission, the latest landmark in Beijing’s drive to become a major space power.The capsule carrying the three astronauts was suspended on...

TOKYO: Candidates to become Japan’s prime minister officially launch their campaigns on Friday, with popular vaccine minister Taro Kono (pix) expected to be the top contender to replace Yoshihide Suga.The leadership race for the ruling Libe...

LONDON: A British study will look into the immune responses of children to mixed schedules of different Covid-19 vaccines as officials try to determine the best approach to second doses in adolescents given a small risk of heart inflammatio...

SYDNEY: Australian officials will trial a home quarantine system for fully vaccinated international travellers arriving in Sydney, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as the country moves to reopen its borders despite persistent C...

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday pledged more freedom for vaccinated citizens, even as the country’s second largest state reported its second highest daily rise in new Covid-19 infections this year.Morrison said fe...

WASHINGTON: US medical experts will meet Friday to debate and vote on the controversial question of giving out booster doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to the general population.President Joe Biden’s administration announced in August a p...

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court's probe into the Philippines' drug war, his lawyer said Thursday, after its judges found the crackdown could be a crime against humanity.ICC judges a...

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he decided to self-isolate for several days as “several dozen” of his acquaintances contracted Covid-19, Sputnik news reported.“You know that unfortunately I had to cancel my visit...

SAN FRANCISCO: US anti-trust regulators signalled on Sept 15 greater scrutiny of Big Tech giants' smaller acquisitions, a potential new avenue in efforts to curb the dominance of the companies.Google's parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebo...

BEIJING: Three people were killed and dozens injured when a shallow earthquake struck southwestern China on Thursday, triggering the second-highest level of emergency response by rescuers in Sichuan province.The quake struck Luxian county b...

WASHINGTON: The White House has offered to arrange a phone call between Nicki Minaj and one of its doctors, multiple US outlets reported, after the rapper sparked widespread derision over claims a cousin's friend had become impotent after r...

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Wednesday graced the cover of Time magazine's annual 100 most influential people in the world issue.The list also includes singers Billie Eilish and Britney Spears, and Olympic gymnast Simone Bi...

JAKARTA: Indonesia is in talks with the World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as six drug companies to become a global hub for manufacturing vaccines, its health minister told Reuters.Detailing the ambitious strategy for the first time, B...

WASHINGTON: Workers began installing a fence around the US Capitol late yesterday ahead of a protest scheduled for September 18, and police asked the National Guard to be ready to help with security if needed.A large group is expected at th...

NEW YORK: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (pix) yesterday said any suggestion the world body can solve Afghanistan’s problems is “a fantasy” and that its capacity to mediate for a more inclusive Taliban government is limit...

WASHINGTON: The United States, Britain and Australia said yesterday they would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will involve helping Canberra acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as Chinese influence over the region...

JAKARTA: Indonesia is in talks with the World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as six drug companies to become a global hub for manufacturing vaccines, its health minister told Reuters.Detailing the ambitious strategy for the first time, B...

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reshuffle his cabinet of senior ministers on Wednesday as he seeks to refocus the government on raising living standards after the Covid-19 pandemic.Johnson has made tackling regional inequa...