Fifty years to the day since mankind launched the first mission to set foot on it, the Moon treated Earthlings with a partial lunar eclipse on Tuesday. Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) said in a statement the event was visible from parts of northern Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and
SYDNEY: Australia’s government on Wednesday called on China to allow an Australian child and his Uighur mother to leave the country, stepping up pressure on Beijing days after Canberra co-signed a letter denouncing its treatment of the Muslim minority. China has rounded up an estimated one million Uighurs and other
SYDNEY: The Australian government has rejected calls to expedite visa applications of 30,000 asylum seekers who have been stuck in legal limbo in the country for more than five years, a report released yesterday shows. The plight of hundreds of refugees held in Australia’s offshore detention centres on Nauru and
WELLINGTON: A pair of New Zealand penguins that broke into a sushi stall at Wellington’s busiest railway station have been returned to their natural habitat. Police said they initially received a report about a little blue penguin in the city centre over the weekend and released the animal back into
TAIPEI: Taiwan urged China and Hong Kong on Tuesday to work together to investigate a spate of financial love scams that have caused over US$30 million in losses to Taiwanese targets. Fighting this new type of cross-border fraud will require the cooperation of all three administrations, and sits in contrast
KHARTOUM: Sudan’s protesters and ruling generals Wednesday inked a power sharing deal, paving the way for a civilian administration, a key demand of demonstrators since president Omar al-Bashir was deposed in April. The two sides initialled a document called the “Political Declaration”, a correspondent reported, after intense talks through the
WASHINGTON: A series of freak fires at sushi restaurants in the United States have been blamed on an unusual culprit: a deep-fried ingredient that, if not handled properly, spontaneously combusts. Firefighters in the city of Madison, Wisconsin say two fires at local Japanese restaurants earlier this year were caused by
The textile industry, subject to the implacable Asian competition all over the world, is betting in Peru on alpaca wool, whose sustainable production generates jobs and adds value. In the Pacomarca farm, located six kilometres from the town of Llalli, not far from Lake Titicaca (southeast), hundreds of alpacas graze
Shadow puppets flitting across screens and reliving age old stories have fascinated Chinese people for some 2,000 years, but falling audiences mean troupes are having to be creative to stay on the stage. On a translucent screen in a Beijing classroom, a child with a cosmic ring takes on the
LONDON: Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny’s decision to boycott the club’s pre-season tour over a contractual dispute is the latest blow in an unsettling summer for the Gunners. Facing a third consecutive season outside the Champions League, Arsenal are attempting to play catch up with their rivals at the top end