WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s treasured kiwi birds are shuffling around Wellington’s verdant hills for the first time in a century, after a drive to eliminate invasive predators from the capital’s surrounds. Visitors to New Zealand a millennium ago would have encountered a bona fide “birdtopia” — islands teeming with feathered creatures
MONTREAL: For a team of Canadian and French researchers, dark clouds on the horizon are potentially ominous not because they signal an approaching storm — but because they were found in a recent study to carry drug-resistant bacteria over long distances. “These bacteria usually live on the surface of vegetation
NEW YORK: Shares of First Republic fell further into an abyss Friday amid mounting speculation over the US regional bank’s way forward after it reported a big fall in deposits. After dropping more than 50 per cent earlier on Friday, shares of First Republic finished the day at $3.51, down
HOUSTON: Four small rooms, a gym and a lot of red sand — NASA unveiled on Tuesday its new Mars-simulation habitat, in which volunteers will live for a year at a time to test what life will be like on future missions to Earth’s neighbour. The facility, created for three
BEIJING: Emmanuel Macron’s unexpected suggestion that Europe not “follow” US policy on Taiwan is being hailed as a “brilliant decision” this week in China, where state news outlets and social media users are lauding his independence. The French president sowed confusion across the international community — and left Western allies
WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund slightly lowered its outlook for the global economy on Tuesday, while predicting that most countries will avoid a recession this year despite economic worries and geopolitical strains. Concerns over high inflation, rising geopolitical tensions and financial stability hang over the updated forecasts, with the impact
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday showered attention on three Tennessee officials targeted for expulsion from the state legislature over their support for gun control, as the fracas escalated into a major national row over race and representation. Biden spoke via phone with the
UNITED NATIONS: UN member states finally agreed Saturday to a text on the first international treaty after years of negotiations to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet. “The ship has reached the shore,” conference chair Rena Lee announced at the UN
GENEVA: Luxury watchmakers are using Snapchat and bitcoin to woo Generation Z, unused to wearing something on the wrist, believing younger buyers could become a powerful driver of sales growth for top-end timepieces. Millennials (born between 1980 and the late 1990s) and Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2010) are
SYDNEY: Australia said Tuesday it will ban TikTok on government devices, joining a growing list of Western nations cracking down on the Chineseowned app due to national security fears. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the decision followed advice from the country’s intelligence agencies and would begin “as soon as practicable”. Australia
