NewsFrance braced for second day of stoppages as strike bites
France was on Friday preparing for a second day of travel cancellations and school closures as unions warned there would be no let-up in the strike called to protest planned pension reforms. The first day of a strike, seen as a major test for President Emmanuel Macron's ambitious vision of reforming
NewsAFP News'Parasite singles': why young Japanese aren't getting married
A sharply dressed crowd of Japanese singletons shuffle awkwardly around conference-room tables, exchanging small-talk and CVs in an attempt to find a marriage partner -- all of them accompanied by their parents.
NewsAFP NewsChina's single women seek sperm donors overseas
Looking at page after page of childhood photos, Xiaogunzhu was drawn to an image of a French-Irish boy with smiling dark blue eyes. Unmarried women in China are largely barred from accessing sperm banks and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, forcing them to seek options abroad. "There are
NewsAFP NewsTrade hopes lift Asia markets but investors eye deadline
Optimism over the China-US trade talks kept Asian markets buoyant on Friday, with investors betting the two will eventually sign a partial deal, though they remain nervous as next week's deadline for fresh tariffs draws closer. Donald Trump caused upheaval by saying he would be happy if a pact was
- NewsMalay Mail
Nine out of 10 Malaysians don’t mind receiving secondhand gifts, survey shows
PETALING JAYA, Dec 6 — 'Tis the season for Christmas shopping and for some, that might mean burning a giant hole in your pocket. However, a recent survey by Carousell shows that Malaysians may not...
- NewsMalay Mail
Nine out of 10 Malaysians don’t mind receiving secondhand gifts, survey shows
PETALING JAYA, Dec 6 — ‘Tis the season for Christmas shopping and for some, that might mean burning a giant hole in their pocket. However, a recent survey by Carousell shows that Malaysians may...
NewsAFP News4 dead after US jewelry heist leads to carjacking, chase, shootout
Two armed jewelry thieves trying to escape the scene of their heist on Thursday hijacked a delivery truck, took its driver hostage, then led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a deadly shootout, authorities in the US state of Florida said. Four people were killed in the gunbattle on a busy street
- NewsReuters
China drafts new rules to control rural plastic pollution
China will tighten regulations on the use of plastic film by farmers to boost crop yields, which has become a major source of soil contamination throughout northern and western regions, according to a draft policy document published on Friday. The new rules, which have been opened to the public for
- NewsMalay Mail
Cementing partnership, Umno-PAS pact to set up permanent home in PWTC
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 ― Umno will host the permanent secretariat of its Muafakat Nasional cooperation with PAS at the Malay nationalist party’s home of Putra World Trade Centre here, Tan Sri Annuar...
NewsAFP NewsPutin and Zelensky in first talks to revive Ukraine peace efforts
The leaders of Russia and Ukraine will meet on Monday for talks on the conflict in east Ukraine, in what could be a step forward in ending Europe's only active war. The summit in Paris will mark the first time Russia's Vladimir Putin meets face-to-face with Ukraine's new comedian-turned-president
- NewsMalay Mail
PKR Youth urges Pakatan to get rid of PTPTN before debt becomes unmanageable
AYER KEROH, Dec 6 ― PKR Youth chief Akmal Nasrullah Md Nasir said Pakatan Harapan (PH) should abolish the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN). In his PKR Youth Congress policy...
NewsAFP NewsPyongyang raises 'dotard' spectre as deadline looms
North Korea has threatened to resume referring to US president Donald Trump as a "dotard", raising the prospect of a return to a war of words with a negotiating deadline approaching. Pyongyang has set Washington an end-of-year time limit to offer it new concessions in deadlocked nuclear negotiations
NewsParis ballet's foreign legion reaches for the stars
Watching YouTube as a child in Australia, the idea of one day joining the ranks of the hallowed Paris Opera Ballet seemed nothing short of an impossible dream. Unlike the Royal Ballet in London or the New York City-based American Ballet Theatre, the Paris Opera Ballet has very few foreign dancers --
NewsAFP NewsAntarctica tourism: the quest for Earth's vulnerable extremes
Antarctica, a vast territory belonging to no one nation, is a continent of extremes: the coldest place on Earth, the windiest, the driest, the most desolate and the most inhospitable. On this strip of land, that juts out of the Antarctic Polar and towards South America, visitors can see wildlife normally
NewsAFP NewsBabies born on floor as Zimbabwe's health system totters
The floor is dusty, the walls filthy and the furniture decrepit, but for two weeks last month a tiny flat in a Harare township was transformed into a maternity clinic where scores of babies were born. Its owner, 69-year-old Esther Gwena, says she helped to deliver 250 infants as Zimbabwe's health
NewsAFP NewsNew York's 'island of the dead' to welcome more of the living
A once off-limits, eroding island in New York where more than a million people are buried in unmarked mass graves dug by prisoners is about to become more accessible. For 150 years, unclaimed bodies, the poor, still-born children and AIDS victims have been laid to rest on the mile-long Hart Island,
NewsAFP News24 hours in the shadow of Mexico's violence
As Mexico struggles to stop the bloodshed unleashed by its "drug wars," the violence casts a long shadow over ordinary life for many Mexicans. - 'Constant contact with death' - Everything in Ciudad Juarez is extreme: the arid climate of the Chihuahuan desert, the stark contrasts of
NewsAFP NewsUAE mines history to assert legitimacy in major documentary
The United Arab Emirates is renowned for skyscrapers and mega-projects, but as the emerging regional power seeks to build legitimacy, it is campaigning to glorify its past as well. The programme traces "the ancient foundations of a modern country" in a story it says dates back 125,000 years
NewsAFP NewsMajor US, global cities slowing amid worldwide slump: report
The blockbuster growth in the world's major cities in recent years will slow sharply in 2020 and 2021 as the global trade slowdown takes its toll, according to new research. Nine of the top 10 biggest global cities will slow next year, with the stars of the US Silicon Valley showing the most dramatic
NewsAFP NewsAuschwitz survivor fears rise of anti-Semitism
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Auschwitz for the first time on Friday, 96-year-old survivor Frederick Terna will be at home in New York worrying about a resurgence of anti-Semitism. Terna, in America since 1952, isn't trying to be "the conscience of the world," but said he is
- NewsReuters
Labor group accuses Google of sacking workers to deter unionism
The Communications Workers of America union filed a federal labor charge against Alphabet Inc's Google on Thursday, accusing the company of unlawfully firing four employees to deter workers from engaging in union activities. The complaint, seen by Reuters, will trigger a National Labor Relations
SportAFP NewsQatar's rivals reach Gulf Cup final despite absent fans
A tiny handful of Saudi fans were present in Qatar Thursday to see their side's hard-won 1-0 Gulf Cup semi-final victory over the hosts whose supporters dominated the cavernous Al-Janoub stadium. Of the 42,025 fans who turned out in the mild winter conditions to see the visitors book their place
NewsAFP NewsFinancial groups gave $745 billion for new coal power plants: NGOs
Financial institutions have chaneled $745 billion over the past three years to new coal power projects worldwide despite effort to reduce fossil fuel use to fight climate change, a report released Thursday said. The amount was calculated using data covering both lending and underwriting between January
NewsAFP NewsNearly 6,000 US sexual assaults reported to Uber in 2017 and 2018
Nearly 6,000 instances of sexual assault, including more than 450 cases of rape, were reported to Uber in the United States in 2017 and 2018, the ride-sharing company said in a report on safety released Thursday. It is the first time that Uber has released the figures -- which also revealed 19 fatal
- NewsMalay Mail
Chaos at PKR Youth Congress as sacked chairman smuggled in before being thrown out
AYER KEROH, Dec 6 ― Chaos erupted at the PKR Youth Congress opening this morning as sacked permanent chairman Mizan Adli Md Noor was smuggled in amid heavy security. Scores of PKR Youth security...
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