WORLD

Without emotions like empathy, we would be equally unmoved by a murder or a kiss GLOBAL COMMENT | KEVIN LALAND| In July, moviegoers flocked to theaters to see `War for the Planet of the Apes’, in which an army of retrovirus-modified primates wage war against humanity. Chimpanzees on horseback, machine-gun-wielding …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | London landmark Big Ben fell silent for four years starting Monday, as a political outcry mounted over renovations that will rob Britain of a cherished symbol at a time of national uncertainty. The 12 bongs from the famous bell rang out for midday in front …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Tresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday warned a top Turkish general who played a key role in defeating last year’s failed coup and led a cross-border operation in Syria that he must accept a surprise demotion without rancour. In a rare show of tension between the …

Beijing, China | AFP | China on Monday renewed its call for the United States and South Korea to suspend joint military drills as the two nations began annual war games that have infuriated nuclear-armed Pyongyang. “The current situation on the Korean peninsula is highly sensitive and fragile, which requires the …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |  The Danish inventor of a do-it-yourself submarine has said that a Swedish journalist missing since August 11 died in an accident on board the vessel, and that he dumped her body in the sea, Danish police said Monday. The inventor, Peter Madsen, had initially claimed …

Jaipur, India | AFP | An Indian court has given a woman permission to divorce her husband because their home did not have a toilet, forcing her to seek relief outdoors. The family court in the northwestern state of Rajasthan ruled on Friday in favour of the woman, who argued that …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Qatar has blocked Saudi planes from transporting hajj pilgrims, Saudi state media said Sunday, after Riyadh reopened the border despite a major diplomatic crisis roiling the Gulf. Riyadh last week reopened its land border with Qatar and allocated seven flights of the Saudi national carrier …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she was glad a Spanish court had ordered the conditional release of a Turkish-German writer wanted by Ankara and warned Turkey not to “misuse” Interpol to pursue its critics. “That’s not on. We must not misuse international organisations such as Interpol” …

Miami, UNITED STATES | AFP | Everyone who plans to look skyward when the solar eclipse sweeps across the United States on Monday should have the proper protective eyewear, or risk lasting blind spots, experts warn. Regular sunglasses will not do, the US space agency says. Only eclipse glasses that have …

Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | When Donald Trump sought this week to lump white supremacists and those protesting against them into the same bag, he triggered a political firestorm with Republicans and Democrats warning “both sides” could not be treated alike. He also added fuel to an increasingly urgent debate …