World News

Beirut blast probe resumes after 13 months: judicial source

The Lebanese judge investigating the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast has resumed his work, a judicial official said Monday, after a 13-month suspension due to political pressure.. "Judge Tarek Bitar has decided to resume his investigation," the official told AFP. The probe into the cause of the blast, one of history's largest non-nuclear explosions, had been stalled since December 2021 as a series of complaints against Bitar obstructed his work.

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 2 mins read

World News

Poland ups pressure to send German-made tanks to Ukraine

Poland said Monday it would seek Berlin's permission to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine, but was prepared to do so without approval as Kyiv presses its allies for heavy weaponry.. Under Germany's war weapons control act, Poland -- and other purchasing countries -- requires Berlin's approval to hand over the Leopard tanks to Ukraine because they are German-made.

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 3 mins read

World News

France 'still deeply sexist', report finds

Sexism remains at an "alarming" level in France with many young men judging discriminatory or violent behaviour against women to be acceptable, a report published Monday found.. - 'Less well treated' - While most men over 65 judged that the image of women in pornography was "problematic", only 48 percent of men aged 15-34 years thought so.

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 2 mins read

World News

Pakistan nationwide power outage continues into night

A massive power breakdown across Pakistan continued after night fell on Monday, affecting most of the country's 220 million residents, including in the mega cities of Karachi and Lahore.. Karachi, with a population of more than 15 million, and Lahore, with a population of more than 10 million, both remained largely without power as darkness fell.

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 2 mins read

World News

French government refuses to back down on pension reform

France's government on Monday moved forward with a fiercely contested pensions reform plan that would raise the retirement age to 64, saying balancing the system's books must be top priority.. Dussopt said the government would accept amendments that "improve the text without giving up on getting back to balancing the books by 2030, nor the fundamentals of the reform".

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 2 mins read

World News

Sean Penn Ukraine doc to premiere at Berlin film fest

US actor and director Sean Penn will premiere a documentary he filmed in Kyiv featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at next month's Berlin film festival, organisers said Monday.. Chatrian said the festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase of the year, would spotlight several documentaries and feature films from Ukrainian directors, in addition to works from dissident Iranian filmmakers, in a sign of "solidarity".

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 1 mins read

World News

Chinese gamers bid sad farewell to 'World of Warcraft'

Chinese players of roleplaying epic "World of Warcraft" bade a sad farewell to the land of Azeroth on Monday, with the game set to go offline after a dispute between US developer Blizzard and local partner NetEase.. Blizzard's games have been available in China since 2008, through collaboration with internet giant NetEase -- under local law, foreign developers are required to partner with Chinese firms to enter the market.

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 2 mins read

World News

UK ambulance workers strike again as unions call for talks

Thousands of ambulance workers held another strike across England and Wales on Monday, in escalating industrial action as unions called the government to hold talks on improving pay and conditions. . The GMB, whose members at one ambulance service in central England were striking Monday, addressed Barclay in a tweet saying: "We need to talk pay.

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 1 mins read

World News

Tom Hanks nominated for three 'Razzies'

His recent hit film "Elvis" is an Oscars frontrunner, but Tom Hanks was left all shook up Monday as he earned three nominations from the Razzies, which "celebrate" the year's worst films.. A press release from organizers of the Razzies dubbed Hanks' "Elvis" role as "2022's most widely derided performance," and piled on a further nomination for "worst screen couple" to "Tom Hanks & His Latex-Laden Face (and Ludicrous Accent)." 

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 1 mins read

World News

'Not afraid of the virus': Wuhan turns page on Covid, three years on

Residents of China's Wuhan said Monday they were hopeful for the future and no longer afraid of Covid-19, three years after the city was locked down over what was then a mysterious virus.. - 'House of hope'- The January 2020 decision to lock down the city, announced in the middle of the night, took Wuhan's residents by surprise as the world watched on with uncertainty.

Mon, Jan 23, 2023 2 mins read