World News

Picky eaters: Japan penguins piqued by penny-pinching zoo

Picky penguins and ornery otters at a Japanese aquarium are facing the effects of inflation, refusing the new bargain bites their keepers are now offering after a jump in prices.. The aquarium is still purchasing some horse mackerel for its feed, but has no plans to revert back entirely until prices fall, Shimamoto said.

UK PM Johnson faces parliamentary inquisition after top ministers quit

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces two high-stakes encounters in parliament on Wednesday after his government was rocked by the shock departures of two senior ministers.. The exits of Sunak and Javid were announced minutes after the prime minister apologised for appointing a senior Conservative, who quit last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men.

India's 'bulldozer justice' flattens Muslim dissent

After two nights in police custody, Indian teenager Somaiya Fatima was released in time to watch live footage of an excavator claw smashing into the walls of her childhood home.. The day Fatima was released, she was sitting in a relative's living room when she came across footage of her home's destruction on her phone. 

Fresh Covid outbreaks put millions under lockdown in China

Tens of millions of people were under lockdown in China on Wednesday as businesses in a major tourist city were forced to shut their doors and fresh clusters sparked fears of a return to blanket restrictions.. The fresh cases and the official response to them have deepened fears that China may be set to return to the kinds of strict restrictions seen earlier this year, when Beijing's hardline zero-Covid policy saw tens of millions locked down for weeks on end. 

'Unbelievable feeling': Overseas hajj pilgrims rejoice after 2-year Covid absence

Of the hundreds of thousands of Muslims arriving in Mecca this week for the annual hajj pilgrimage, perhaps none had a more arduous journey than Adam Mohammed, a 53-year-old electrical engineer from the United Kingdom.. Mohammed said Saudi authorities granted him and his wife and two daughters, who have flown from the UK to the Gulf kingdom, a permit to participate in the hajj, which consists of a series of religious rites completed in Mecca and surrounding areas of western Saudi Arabia.

French PM to face baptism of fire in divided parliament

French Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne will on Wednesday lay out the government's policy priorities in her first speech in front of what promises to be a stormy parliament.. Without formal allies in the 577-seat national assembly, Borne has decided not to call a confidence vote on her policy speech -- something almost all past prime ministers have done after their first appearances in the lower house.

Sri Lankans return to cooking with firewood as economy burns

As once relatively wealthy Sri Lanka suffers a dire economic crisis with shortages of everything from medicines to gas, people are returning to cooking with firewood.. "We suffer (smoke inhalation) when cooking with firewood, but we have no choice," Karunawathi told AFP. "It is also difficult to find firewood and it is also becoming very expensive."

Thousands more flee as Sydney floods track north

Thousands of people on Australia's east coast fled their homes Wednesday as torrential rains tracked north after unleashing floods in Sydney that submerged communities, roads and bridges under mud-brown water.. Across Sydney's western fringe, rivers broke their banks and large areas have been transformed into inland lakes, with mud-brown waters invading homes while cutting off roads and bridges.

UK PM Johnson faces parliamentary inquisition after top ministers quit

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces two high-stakes encounters in parliament on Wednesday after his government was rocked by the shock departures of two senior ministers.. The exits of Sunak and Javid were announced minutes after the prime minister apologised for appointing a senior Conservative, who quit last week after he was accused of drunkenly groping two men.

Maskless pilgrims launch largest hajj of Covid era

The biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began kicks off Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of mostly maskless worshippers expected to circle Islam's holiest site in Saudi Arabia's Mecca.. The pilgrimage consists of a series of religious rites which are completed over five days in Islam's holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.