Showing 1 - 10 of 207
WTO must 'reform or die': talks facilitator
AFP, Published on 04/02/2026
» GENEVA - Successfully reforming the WTO is a matter of life and death for the organisation, warns the facilitator of talks on revamping the global trade body.
Japan says rare earth found in sediment retrieved on deep-sea mission
AFP, Published on 02/02/2026
» TOKYO — Sediment containing rare earth was retrieved from ocean depths of 6,000 metres (about 20,000 feet) on a Japanese test mission, the government said Monday, as it seeks to curb dependence on China for the valuable minerals.
Hong Kong shelter saves 351 animals in 6 months as trapping, smuggling cases surge
South China Morning Post, Published on 07/01/2026
» HONG KONG — Illegal dog trapping and cat smuggling have become alarmingly common, with an animal rescue group reporting that it saved 351 animals in Hong Kong over the past six months - an average of two per day.
US ‘support’ for multinational force in Ukraine proposed
AFP, Published on 06/01/2026
» PARIS - The United States would lead a “ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism” with European participation if a peace deal is agreed in the Russia-Ukraine war, Kyiv’s allies said in a draft statement seen by AFP ahead of a summit in Paris on Tuesday.
Bulgaria adopts the euro, nearly 20 years after joining the EU
AFP, Published on 01/01/2026
» SOFIA (BULGARIA) - Bulgaria became the 21st country to switch to the euro as it entered the New Year on Thursday, a milestone met with both cheers and fears, nearly 20 years after the Balkan nation joined the European Union.
Lid lifted on Hong Kong bid-rigging rackets
South China Morning Post, Published on 24/12/2025
» Raphael Chan entered Hong Kong’s construction industry in the mid-1990s convinced that quality building work could improve people’s lives. But he quit more than two decades later, disillusioned by what he called rampant corruption in the industry.
Boos, blowups and last-minute pause as a chaotic COP30 closes out
AFP, Published on 23/11/2025
» BELéM (BRAZIL) - Jabs about greedy children, boos for the Vatican, and a suspension of proceedings lasting more than an hour: the COP30 finale unfolded with the same chaotic energy that defined the summit, exposing the rifts that came close to derailing a deal.
France expected to adopt consent-based rape law
AFP, Published on 29/10/2025
» PARIS — French senators are on Wednesday expected to back a bill defining rape as any non-consensual sexual act, making France the latest European country to pass a consent-based law.
Child protection vs privacy: decision time for EU
AFP, Published on 08/10/2025
» BRUSSELS — Does protecting children justify snooping on private messages? That is the sensitive question facing European Union (EU) countries Wednesday as they wrangle over a push to combat child sexual abuse material online.
EU clamps down on food waste, fast fashion
AFP, Published on 09/09/2025
» STRASBOURG, France - European Union lawmakers gave a final green light Tuesday to a law on slashing back the mountains of food wasted in Europe each year, and curbing the environmental impact of so-called fast fashion.