New Zealand’s Ardern delivers welfare boost in annual budget as economy rebounds
By Praveen Menon
WELLINGTON - New Zealand on Thursday lifted welfare benefit rates and promised billions of dollars more towards addressing rising inequality in its annual budget,...
ByteDance founder to step down as CEO, hand over to college roommate
By Echo Wang and Yingzhi Yang
Zhang Yiming will step down as chief executive of TikTok-owner ByteDance, leaving the task of navigating a rising number of Big Tech regulations worldwide...
Trump says New York criminal probe is in ‘desperate search of a crime’
By Katanga Johnson
Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked New York state's attorney general for launching a criminal probe of his family business, saying he...
‘We are waiting to die’: hope wanes for world’s poor after India halts vaccine...
NAIROBI/KUALA LUMPUR — When John Omondi received his coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination last month, the Kenyan taxi driver counted himself one of the lucky ones.
Now, he’s not...
From Parisian cafes to Roman gelato, Europe is finally reawakening
EUROPE is waking up from the pandemic with cafes in Paris, gelato vendors in Rome and beer gardens in Bavaria reopening, a major test for the region’s recovery in health and economic terms.
Ceasefire still elusive in Israel-Gaza fighting
GAZA/JERUSALEM — Israel bombarded Gaza with air strikes and Palestinian militants kept up cross-border rocket fire, with no firm sign on Wednesday of any imminent ceasefire despite international calls to end more than a week of fighting.
Spain approves Pfizer shots for under-60s who got AstraZeneca first dose
MADRID — Spain’s public health commission has approved a proposal by the health ministry that Spaniards under 60 who have received a first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine get a second shot of the coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer, Inc, El Pais newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.
End new oil, gas, and coal funding to reach net zero, says IEA
LONDON — Investors should not fund new oil, gas, and coal supply projects if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, in the top global watchdog’s starkest warning yet to curb fossil fuels.
While rich countries experience a post-COVID boom, the poor are getting poorer
The latest International Monetary Fund and World Bank reports show a global economic boom gathering steam. This is thanks to $16 trillion in fiscal stimulus packages spent mostly across the world’s rich nations since the pandemic began.
From beef to chocolate, illegal deforestation found behind many everyday foods
BOGOTA — Nearly 70% of tropical forests cleared for cattle ranching and crops such as soybeans and palm oil were deforested illegally between 2013 and 2019, a study showed on Tuesday, warning of the impact on global efforts to fight climate change.
US, Canada, Mexico hold ‘robust’ trade deal talks, downplay differences
WASHINGTON — Trade ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico said on Tuesday they held “robust” talks on the new North American trade deal and pledged to fully enforce its higher standards, while downplaying differences over a range of other irritants.
China says US threatening peace as warship transits Taiwan Strait
BEIJING/TAIPEI — China accused the United States on Wednesday of threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait after a US warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from its giant neighbor.