London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May asked EU leaders Wednesday for a three-month delay to Brexit amid continued political deadlock in London, but Brussels warned the postponement carried “serious legal and political risks”. Exactly 1,000 days on from Britain’s seismic 2016 referendum vote to leave the European …
Read More »COMMENT: A new paradigm for plastics
Momentum should be on a new global framework to reduce the production and consumption of plastic | Lili Fuhr and Jane Patton | We have long known that the accumulation of plastic in the world’s landfills and oceans represents a growing environmental risk. More recently, we have come to understand …
Read More »UK’s May faced cabinet revolt over Brexit delay
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a cabinet revolt if she asked the EU for a long delay to Brexit, media reports said Wednesday, even after she had warned MPs of such a possibility. Downing Street confirmed that May would be asking EU leaders meeting …
Read More »Google moves to disrupt video games with streaming, studio
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google set out to disrupt the video game world on Tuesday with a Stadia platform that will let players stream blockbuster titles to any device they wish, as the online giant also unveiled a new controller and its very own studio. The California-based …
Read More »May tries to save Brexit plan after speaker’s bombshell
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May held crisis talks with her ministers Tuesday after the speaker of parliament threatened to derail her EU withdrawal plan just 10 days before Brexit day, leaving her strategy in tatters. May is still hoping she can get the divorce agreement …
Read More »British PM battles to bring Brexiteers onside
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s government scrambled Monday to convince Brexit hardliners to give in at last and back Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU divorce deal, though key opponents were refusing to blink. With less than two weeks to go until a potentially chaotic departure on March 29 …
Read More »Convicted French cardinal expected to resign at meeting with pope
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis met Monday with Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, France’s highest-ranking Catholic official, who was expected to tender his resignation after receiving a six-month suspended jail sentence for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority. The Vatican confirmed the meeting …
Read More »China hits out at ‘abnormal, immoral’ attacks on Huawei
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | China’s foreign minister lashed out Monday at “abnormal, immoral” attacks on Huawei amid growing concern, led by the US, that the telecom giant poses a security risk to the West. Wang Yi demanded a “fair and just competition environment” for Chinese firms as he met EU foreign ministers and officials …
Read More »‘Shameless’ scammers seek to cash in on Christchurch massacre
Christchurch, New Zealand | AFP | Scammers are trying to cash in on the Christchurch mosque massacres, using phishing emails with links to fake bank accounts to ensnare people keen to donate, New Zealand’s cyber security body said Monday. The attack on two mosques in which 50 worshippers were killed, allegedly by a white supremacist, …
Read More »‘Hip hop music changes cheese taste’
Cheesy listening: study says tunes change Emmental’s taste Bergdorf, Switzerland | AFP | It may be grating for some, but hip-hop is music to the ears of Switzerland’s most famous cheese. According to research on the musical tastes of Emmental, the holey cheese changes flavour depending on the melodies played …
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