WORLD

Paris, France | AFP | Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in rapid decline and a third could disappear altogether, according to a study warning of dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains. “Unless we change our way of producing food, insects as a whole will …

  Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the US administration to give greater priority to artificial intelligence, a move seen as firing up a battle for leadership with China. The American AI Initiative executive order calls for the administration to “devote the full resources of …

  Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Thirty years after Iran called for the killing of Salman Rushdie, the British novelist remains a figure of hate for extremists across the Muslim world, and though the level of outrage has dropped, the issue of blasphemy is as incendiary as ever. Rushdie’s novel “The …

New York, United States | AFP | The stunning revelation that a tabloid obtained below-the-belt selfies of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — the world’s richest man — suggests that even billionaires are not out of the reach of hackers. Bezos came out fighting this week, accusing the National Enquirer of blackmailing …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Here is a list of winners in the major categories for the Grammy Awards, which were handed out on Sunday in Los Angeles. Country star Kacey Musgraves won the top prize of the night, Album of the Year, for her “Golden Hour.” Album …

Paris, France | AFP | From the return to Tehran of exiled revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to the fall of the shah’s last government, Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution was over in 10 days. Here are the highlights of what has become known as the 10 Days of Dawn, or Daheh …

Paris, France | AFP | On February 14, 1989 Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for British writer Salman Rushdie to be killed for writing “The Satanic Verses”, which the cleric said insulted Islam. In a fatwa, or religious decree, Khomeini urged “Muslims of the world rapidly to execute …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government is seeking to win more time to secure EU concessions on Brexit that could pass parliament and avert a chaotic split from the bloc on March 29. Businesses and governments are on edge because Britain is just weeks away from its scheduled departure from the European …

New York, United States | AFP | After sparking a scandal by recalling a racist episode from his distant past, actor Liam Neeson is now battling to save his career — a task experts predict will be difficult but not impossible. More than 40 years ago, Neeson recently told The Independent of London, he was …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Forget chocolate, flowers or a romantic dinner. A zoo in Texas is offering singles the chance to name a cockroach after their ex and see it fed to a meerkat live on camera on Valentine’s Day. In a campaign dubbed “Quit Bugging Me!!!” the …