Opening ceremony director fired over Holocaust joke on Games eve
On the eve of the Tokyo Games, organisers fired the director of the opening ceremony over a joke he made about the Holocaust, while media reported former Prime Minister Shinzo ...
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Syrian air defences intercept Israeli attack over Homs
Syria’s air defences intercepted an Israeli attack on the al Qusair area in Homs early on Thursday, Syrian state media reported.
A Syrian military source said in a statement ...
Tens of thousands evacuated as China storms spread northwards
Tens of thousands of people were being evacuated from flood-hit regions of central China on Thursday as officials raised the death toll from heavy rains that have deluged Henan province ...
Musk says Tesla ‘most likely’ to accept bitcoin again
“I might pump, but I don’t dump,” said Elon Musk on Wednesday. “I definitely do not believe in getting the price high and selling … I would like to see ...
Half of all Afghan district centres under Taliban control – US general
Taliban insurgents control about half of Afghanistan’s district centres, the senior US general said on Wednesday, indicating a rapidly deteriorating security situation.
Insecurity has been growing in Afghanistan in ...
Athletes to suffer alongside Tokyoites as Japan heat soars
Many of the world’s top athletes will suffer along with Tokyoites in the “ridiculous” heat of Japan’s high summer, as the Olympic Games start this week in sweltering ...
UK citizen arrested in Spain for role in 2020 Twitter hack
A 22-year-old British citizen was arrested in Spain on Wednesday in connection with a July 2020 Twitter hack which compromised the accounts of high-profile politicians and celebrities, the U.S. Justice ...
India reports first human death from bird flu
An 11-year-old boy has died in India from a bird flu virus of the H5N1 strain, the first such fatality in the country, highlighting a potential new risk for ...
EU rejects UK demand for new post-Brexit deal on Northern Ireland
Britain demanded on Wednesday that the European Union agree to rewrite a deal overseeing problematic post-Brexit trade involving Northern Ireland just a year after it was agreed with the bloc, ...
Sweden women end US unbeaten run, Dutch put 10 past Zambia
World champions the United States were dealt a 3-0 drubbing by Sweden to end a 30-month unbeaten run, and the Netherlands put 10 goals past a hapless Zambia on a day ...
Israel shakes up agriculture sector to cut produce costs
Israel’s government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to lower fresh produce costs by cutting customs duties and opening the sector to competition, potentially ending years of prices far above ...
J&J raises revenue forecast, estimates $2.5 bln in COVID-19 vaccine sales
Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday forecast $2.5 billion in sales of its one-shot COVID-19 vaccine this year based on the current price of $5 per dose and said that could rise to $8 ...
No direct impact on sales from Ronaldo snub -Coca-Cola CFO
Coca-Cola has not seen any direct sales impact after Portugal soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo removed two bottles of its soda placed in front of him at a Euro 2020 press conference ...
Coronavirus: Croatia sets obligatory tests for visitors from Cyprus, UK and Russia
Croatia will impose obligatory Covid-19 tests for visitors coming from Britain, Russia and Cyprus from July 26, the state health institute said on Wednesday.
“Due to the worsening of the epidemiological ...
Japan win softball opener as Games ‘of hope’ begin
The Japanese women’s softball team got the Tokyo 2020 Olympics off to a winning start for the hosts on Wednesday, kicking off a pandemic-postponed Games that the World Health Organisation ...
Orban referendum plan raises stakes in Hungary’s LGBT row with EU
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday stepped up a culture war with the European Union by announcing a referendum on legislation that limits schools’ teaching about homosexuality and transgender ...
Liverpool stripped of its world heritage status
Liverpool has been removed from UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites after the United Nations’ cultural agency found new buildings, including a football stadium, undermined the attractiveness of its ...
Moon ‘wobble,’ climate change seen as driving coastal flooding in 2030s
By Dan Fastenberg
US coastlines will face increasing flooding in the mid-2030s thanks to a regular lunar cycle that will magnify rising sea levels caused by climate change, according ...
Germans question handling of floods as hopes of finding survivors fade
A relief official said on Wednesday rescue crews were unlikely to find any more survivors in the rubble of villages devastated by floods in western Germany, and a new poll ...
No health pass, no cinema or museum: France tightens COVID-19 rules
Where’s your health pass? Visitors heading to museums, cinemas or swimming pools in France will be denied entry from Wednesday if they cannot show the document that proves they ...
Orban to allow Hungarians decide on child protection issues
Hungary announced plans on Wednesday to call a referendum on child protection issues to combat pressure from the European Union over legislation which the bloc says discriminates against LGBT people.
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Australia’s Brisbane named host of 2032 summer Olympics
The Australian city of Brisbane will host the 2032 summer Olympics, after the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday approved the recommendation of its executive board.
Brisbane, where hundreds of people gathered ...
Over 10,000 species risk extinction in Amazon
More than 10,000 species of plants and animals are at high risk of extinction due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest – 35% of which has already been deforested or degraded, according ...
‘Mind the gap’ – why the complaints about the EU’s climate plan?
By Isla Binnie
The European Union’s huge policy package to make good on a pledge to reduce net greenhouse emissions by 55 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030 has stirred opposition ...