China’s population expected to start to shrink before 2025
HONG KONG — China’s population has slowed significantly and is expected to start to shrink ahead of 2025, the state backed Global Times reported, citing a senior health official.
‘God, give us rain’ — Romanian monastery prays for end to drought
DRAGANESTI-VLASCA, Romania — Iulia Coleasa, an 81-year-old who relies on her small plot for food, traveled 15 kilometers in searing heat to a monastery in southern Romania on Sunday to join a service praying for rain.
US economy slowing, but recession not inevitable, Yellen says
WASHINGTON — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that US economic growth is slowing and she acknowledged the risk of a recession,...
Ukraine works to resume grain exports, flags Russian strikes as risk
KYIV — Ukraine pressed ahead on Sunday with efforts to restart grain exports from its Black Sea ports under a deal aimed at easing...
Monkeypox outbreak is now a global health emergency — WHO
THE RAPIDLY spreading monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization’s highest level of alert, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday.
China heightens warning to US over possible Pelosi visit to Taiwan
CHINA has issued stark private warnings to the Biden administration about a possible trip to Taiwan in August by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s southern port
KYIV — Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s southern port of Odesa on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said, threatening a deal signed just a day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.
Russian oligarchs’ citizenship bids face scrutiny in Portugal
LISBON — Portugal is analyzing the citizenship applications of two Russian oligarchs — one of whom is under US sanctions, the government said late on Friday, as a law granting passports to descendants of Sephardic Jews faces growing scrutiny.
Google fires software engineer who claimed its AI chatbot is sentient
ALPHABET, INC.’s Google said on Friday it has dismissed a senior software engineer who claimed the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot LaMDA was a self-aware person.
Australia gov’t to double foreign investment fees, penalties
SYDNEY — Australia will double the fees for foreign investors looking to buy assets in the country, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Friday, as...
Japan warns of rising security threats in annual defense report
TOKYO — Japan warned on Friday of escalating national security threats, including repercussions from Russia’s war with Ukraine, Chinese intimidation of Taiwan, and vulnerable...
Biden says he is ‘doing well,’ working after testing positive for COVID
WASHINGTON — Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the oldest person ever to serve as president of the United States, has tested positive for coronavirus disease...