Bushfires burned a fifth of Australia’s forest

Australia’s wildfires have destroyed more than a fifth of the country’s forests, making the blazes “globally unprecedented” following a years-long drought linked to climate change, researchers said Monday.
25 February 2020, 18:00 PM

German cops seek motive in car ramming incident

German authorities yesterday scrambled to determine the motives of a man who ploughed his car into a carnival procession, injuring dozens and further unsettling a country rocked by a fatal mass shooting last week.
25 February 2020, 18:00 PM

US accuses Assange of endangering sources

A lawyer for the United States yesterday accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of risking the lives of intelligence sources by publishing classified US government documents, as his extradition hearing opened in a London court.
24 February 2020, 18:00 PM

Libya’s warring sides propose truce deal

Libya’s warring sides have proposed a draft ceasefire agreement that would see the United Nations monitor the safe return of civilians to their homes, the UN said yesterday.
24 February 2020, 18:00 PM

Spread of COVID-19 confirms WHO fears

The sharp rise in cases and the geographical spread of the coronavirus outside China confirm WHO fears over dealing with the crisis, experts warned Sunday as they appealed for ever greater vigilance.
24 February 2020, 18:00 PM

Human rights under assault

UN chief Antonio Guterres yesterday launched a “call to action” against rising attacks on human rights, highlighting the persecution of minorities and “alarming levels of femicide”.
24 February 2020, 18:00 PM

Security threat ‘very high’ from far right

German interior minister Horst Seehofer yesterday said that the police presence would be increased across the country to counter the “very high” security threat from the far-right, after a gunman killed nine people in a racist attack late Wednesday.
21 February 2020, 18:00 PM

UK police rule out terror in London mosque stabbing

British police on Thursday said they were not treating as terror related a London mosque stabbing in which an elderly worshipper suffered non life-threatening injuries.
21 February 2020, 18:00 PM

Ukraine minister joins China evacuees in quarantine

Ukraine’s health minister said she will spend two weeks in quarantine with evacuees from coronavirus-hit China after protesters clashed with police and threw stones at returnees over infection fears.
21 February 2020, 18:00 PM

‘US, China, Russia making world more dangerous’

Germany’s president took an indirect swipe at US President Donald Trump yesterday in accusing Washington, China and Russia of stoking global mistrust and insecurity with a “great powers” competition” that could threaten a new nuclear arms race.
14 February 2020, 18:00 PM

PM seeks greater federal powers during disasters

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said yesterday he wants greater federal powers during natural disasters, as authorities warned bushfires ravaging the country for months were sweeping through a national park near the capital.
29 January 2020, 18:00 PM

Brexit to be sealed with final Brussels vote

Britain’s departure from the European Union was set in law yesterday as London returned a signed treaty and MEPs prepared to vote to ratify the divorce.
29 January 2020, 18:00 PM

Present ‘counter-offer’

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday urged Palestinians who rejected President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan to come up with a “counter-offer” that could win Israeli support, as he headed to Britain on a five-nation tour.
29 January 2020, 18:00 PM

Coronavirus: Germany confirms first human transmission in Europe

A German man who tested positive for the strain of coronavirus currently sweeping China was infected by a work colleague, officials say, in what is believed to be the first human transmission in Europe.
28 January 2020, 12:33 PM

Firefighting plane crashes in Australia

Three American crew helping to battle Australia’s devastating bushfires were killed yesterday when their water-bombing plane crashed in mountainous terrain during a sortie to tackle another outbreak of the deadly blazes.
23 January 2020, 18:00 PM

MPS back Putin’s reforms

Russian lawmakers yesterday unanimously approved a sweeping constitutional reform bill put forward by President Vladimir Putin in its first reading.
23 January 2020, 18:00 PM

Brexit bill passes final hurdle

Queen Elizabeth II gave her formal assent yesterday for Britain to end its decades-long involvement in the European Union and seek a more independent but uncertain future at the end of the month.
23 January 2020, 18:00 PM

‘Go study’ and then teach

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin yesterday advised climate activist Greta Thunberg, who has been bitterly critical of US policy at the World Economic Forum, to study economics before giving out lessons.
23 January 2020, 18:00 PM

Paid protest for Huawei CFO!

Protestors outside a Canadian courtroom pressing for the release of a senior Chinese telecommunications executive fighting extradition to the US were paid actors, they told local media. It was not clear, however, who footed the bill.
23 January 2020, 18:00 PM

Weinstein a ‘seasoned’ sexual predator, rapist

Harvey Weinstein was a “seasoned” sexual predator and rapist who abused his power as a movie-producing titan to prey on vulnerable aspiring actresses, prosecutors said Wednesday as his trial heard from its first witness.
23 January 2020, 18:00 PM