From China to India, and France to the United States, world media hailed Roger Federer as one of the finest sportsmen ever on Friday after the Swiss legend announced he will retire from tennis.. It said that the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz, the new US Open champion and world number one at just 19, coupled with Federer's retirement, was a "page-turning moment".
Sitting on the side of a Jakarta road anxiously waiting for his phone to ping, driver Muhammad Ridwan says it is now barely worth hurtling through thick smog every day to ferry passengers.. "It significantly burdens me whenever I buy fuel these days," said 38-year-old Grab driver Iwan Nur Akbar, who had waited an hour for an order to ping on his phone.
Inside the bowels of a Hong Kong industrial building, Eric Pun was among two dozen people crammed into a classroom learning to drill holes -- acquiring a new set of skills before heading abroad.. If I could learn more skills before I leave, then if the opportunity came along for me to open up a business, I would be more confident," she told AFP. Chau said her concerns about Hong Kong's education system amid a shifting political climate drove her to leave.
The United Arab Emirates did not qualify for the Qatar World Cup but it will be a winner anyway if an overspill of fans floods its hotels, restaurants and planes.. Any economic windfall, and reflected glory from the first World Cup on Arab soil, will come less than two years after Doha and the UAE were daggers-drawn over a regional blockade that isolated Qatar from its neighbours.
Asian markets dropped at the open on Friday, tracking Wall Street losses as investors continue to exhibit concern over persistently high global inflation and the likelihood of further interest rate hikes.. - Fed expectations - Analysts expect the Fed to continue raising interest rates, in a bid to cool an overheating economy and combat sky-high inflation, which remains near decades-highs in major economies.
King Charles III heads to Wales Friday for the last of his visits to the four nations of the United Kingdom as preparations for the queen's state funeral gather pace.. - 'Peaceful' - The state funeral will follow four days of the queen's coffin lying in state at Westminster Hall.
Once a discreetly smiling presence at Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's side, First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro is increasingly wooing Evangelical Christian and women voters to reelect the husband she calls "one of God's chosen ones.". A mainly behind-the-scenes presence for most of Bolsonaro's term, the first lady is now playing a starring role in his campaign -- to the point of giving what he himself called the keynote speech when he launched his reelection bid a month ago.
A blanket of multi-colored plastic waste flowing in from tributaries covers Lake Suchitlan in El Salvador.. "We must attack where the main flow of rubbish comes from," said Eduardo Arguera, 29, an architecture student at the University of El Salvador, who has launched several clean up campaigns.
From record droughts to catastrophic floods, the world's worst climate hotspots are seeing a surge in acute hunger, according to an Oxfam report that called on rich nations to drastically cut their emissions and compensate low-income countries.. Polluting industrialized nations such as those of the G20 are responsible for more than three-quarters of the world's carbon emissions, while the 10 climate hotspots are collectively responsible for just 0.13 percent.
The gunman who tried to shoot Argentina's Vice President Cristina Kirchner in the face was formally charged Thursday with attempted homicide, as was his girlfriend, court documents showed.. The judge leading the case, Maria Capuchetti, issued charges of attempted aggravated homicide with premeditation against Sabag Montiel and Uliarte, who will remain in police custody, according to court documents seen by AFP. Judge Capuchetti has yet to issue charges against two of the couple's acquaintances -- Agustina Diaz, 21, and Gabriel Carrizo, 27 -- who were both arrested earlier this week.
