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French actor Gerard Depardieu is the highest-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema’s version of the #MeToo movement. (AP pic) PARIS: French actor Gerard Depardieu will stand trial on Oct 28 for sexually assaulting two women, and faces separate charges of rape and numerous further criminal complaints. Depardieu, 75, is the highest-profile figure to […]
The UK’s King Charles III delivers a speech during the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Apia, Samoa. (AP pic) APIA: King Charles said on Friday the Commonwealth should acknowledge its “painful” history, as African and Caribbean nations push for reparations for the UK’s role in transatlantic slavery. Representatives of 56 […]
The headquarters of Thames Water, which is battling to avoid collapse under its debt pile. (Wikipedia/Jim Linwood pic) LONDON: The UK on Wednesday launched a major review to tackle the crisis in its water utility sector after years of under-investment and pollution scandals affecting rivers, lakes and seas, which could result in its regulator being […]
The risk of US tariffs rattled China’s industry, responsible for over US$400 billion in exports to the US and components for American goods. (EPA Images pic) GUANGZHOU: If Donald Trump wins next month’s US presidential election, Mike Sagan’s toy-making company will halve its China supply chain within a year. KidKraft, which also makes outdoor play […]
A woman scoops water from a hole she has dug in a dried-up riverbed in Lusitu, Zambia. (AP pic) JOHANNESBURG: Joyce Lakela runs a nursery in Tembisa, a Johannesburg township, but these days she spends most of her time trying to find water. “It’s been going on for five days,” she said, lamenting shortages affecting […]
The ship-launched SM-6 missile targets aircraft and cruise missiles, while the SM-2 Block III C offers enhanced guidance. (RTX pic) SYDNEY: Australia announced Tuesday a US$4.7 billion deal to arm its navy with cutting-edge US medium and long-range missiles at a time of rapidly escalating military tensions in the Asia-Pacific. The agreement, hailed by Canberra […]
Japanese police officers examine a vehicle blocked by a barricade near the prime minister’s office in Tokyo. (Kyodo News/AP pic) TOKYO: A man was arrested in Tokyo after throwing several suspected petrol bombs at the ruling party headquarters this morning, Japanese media said, just over a week before a general election. Public broadcaster NHK said […]
Entire provinces have gone without light for hours, and many locations outside Havana go with less than six hours of electricity a day. (AFP pic) HAVANA/HOUSTON: Cuba’s communist-run government shut down schools and non-essential industry and sent most government workers home on Friday in a bid to conserve energy and stem blackouts that now exceed […]
Taiwan reported an unprecedented 25 Chinese navy and coast guard boats also approached close to the island’s 39km contiguous zone. (AP pic) TAIPEI: China is building its capacity to rapidly turn military drills into an all-out attack, a senior Taiwan security official said, providing the Taipei government’s assessment of the strategic intent behind Beijing’s war […]
Italy will run two migrant centres in Albania surrounded by high walls and security cameras. (AP pic) SHENGJIN: A ship carrying migrants intercepted in Italian waters docked today in Albania, nearly a year after Rome and Tirana reached a controversial deal to process asylum seekers trying to reach Europe. Sixteen men from Bangladesh and Egypt […]