Swiss voters to decide ban on facial coverings
Swiss voters are deciding on a far-right proposal to ban facial coverings as they take to the polls on Sunday in a binding referendum viewed as a test of attitudes ...
Articles
Pope Francis visits Iraq’s ruined city of Mosul, hearing residents’ testimony
By Philip Pullella
Muslim and Christian residents of Mosul told Pope Francis of their lives under the brutal rule of Islamic State on Sunday as the pontiff blessed their vow ...
Digital banking platform launched in UAE
The first independent digital banking platform in the United Arab Emirates launched on Sunday, a neobank hoping to become a leader in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Dubai-based ...
Germany to pay €2.6bn to close nuclear plants
The German government has agreed to pay four nuclear operators nearly €2.6 billion ($3.1 billion) in compensation for forcing them to shut their nuclear plants early in response to the Fukushima disaster, ...
Lebanon’s caretaker PM pleads for a new government as protests continue
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab threatened on Saturday to stop performing his duties to pressure politicians to form a new government, citing an incident in which shoppers fought ...
Gunners’ Xhaka gaffe gifts Burnley a point
A dreadful defensive error from Arsenal‘s Granit Xhaka gifted Burnley an equaliser as the sides drew 1-1 at Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Gunners had ...
Afghan president says ready to discuss elections to advance talks with Taliban
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Saturday, in a bid to push forward peace talks with the Taliban, that his government was ready to discuss holding fresh elections, insisting that ...
Benzema back for Real in time for derby showdown at Atletico
Real Madrid’s top scorer Karim Benzema is back for Sunday’s derby away to La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, coach Zinedine Zidane said, no doubt hoping the striker can ...
Mars rover Perseverance takes first spin on surface of red planet
NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance has taken its first, short drive on the surface of the red planet, two weeks after the robot science lab’s picture-perfect touchdown on the ...
Main Volkswagen brand speeds up shift to electric
Volkswagen wants electric vehicles to make up the majority of European sales for its core brand by 2030, it said on Friday, the latest carmaker to accelerate the shift towards battery-powered ...
EU seeks access to US produced AstraZeneca vaccines
The European Union will urge the United States to permit the export of millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as it scrambles to bridge supply shortfalls, the Financial ...
Tom Brady rookie card auctioned for record $1.32m
A Tom Brady rookie card sold for a record-setting $1.32 million in an online auction at PWCC Marketplace on Thursday, marking the most ever paid for a football card.
James Park, ...
Coronavirus: Democrats advance Biden’s $1.9 trillion bill
By Makini Brice and David Morgan
Democrats in the US Senate forged ahead with President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan early on Saturday, turning back Republican attempts to ...
Myanmar forces fire stun grenades on protest as UN envoy calls for action
Myanmar security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to break up a protest in Yangon on Saturday, just hours after a United Nations special envoy called on the Security ...
Pope, on Iraq visit, decries violence in the name of God as ‘greatest blasphemy’
By Philip Pullella
Pope Francis walked down a narrow alleyway in the holy city of Najav to hold a historic meeting with Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric and visited ...
Wealth managers frustrated over bitcoin, anxious for piece of the action
The rollercoster ride in bitcoin since the start of the year has not dampened wealth manager Jim Paulsen’s enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency.
Yet Paulsen, chief investment officer for Leuthold ...
New drug molnupiravir shows promise at reducing Covid-19 infection
US drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Saturday the experimental antiviral drug molnupiravir it is developing with Ridgeback Bio showed a quicker reduction in infectious virus in its phase 2...
US detained nearly 100,000 migrants at US-Mexico border in February
U.S. border agents detained nearly 100,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in February, according to two people familiar with preliminary figures, the highest arrest total for the month ...
Canada approves J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine
Canada’s drug regulator on Friday approved Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, the fourth such shot to be given the green light, as Ottawa brought forward deliveries of millions ...
‘I’m ready to talk,’ says Meghan ahead of Oprah interview
Meghan, Britain’s Duchess of Sussex, said she had given an in-depth interview to U.S. chat show host Oprah Winfrey to be aired on Sunday because she was now ...
Japan to extend Tokyo area state of emergency to March 21
The Japanese government plans to extend a state of emergency to combat COVID-19 for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures until March 21, two weeks longer than originally scheduled, Prime Minister Yoshihide ...
IFAB makes further changes to handball rules
Football’s rulemaker IFAB has changed the laws of the game so that accidental handballs leading to a team mate scoring will no longer be penalised.
It was previously the ...
Biden beefs up White House staff, including Big Tech critic Wu
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday rounded out his White House staff with a host of new appointments focused on COVID-19, criminal justice, the economy and other major issues, ...
India steps up border patrols to stop arrivals from Myanmar
Indian security forces stepped up patrols on the border with Myanmar on Friday to stop refugees entering after some police officers crossed over to escape taking orders from the military ...