Two brothers carry on the traditional art of handmade Chinese coffins in Malaysia, in photos

Former Australia captain Ryan absent from Socceroos squad for Brazil friendlies

The support system behind Singapore’s hawker culture

Behind the bustle of every hawker centre is a network that helps stallholders build sustainable businesses while keeping neighbourhood dining affordable.

Jury convicts woman of negligent homicide in death of reporter covering Super Bowl in New Orleans

A Louisiana jury has convicted a woman of negligent homicide in the death of a television reporter who had been visiting New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl

SICCI to launch India trade push, starting with Tamil Nadu mission

SICCI to launch India trade push, starting with Tamil Nadu mission

US sanctions bill gives Ukraine new leverage against Russia

US sanctions bill gives Ukraine new leverage against Russia

Trump says 'major progress' made toward US military base in Poland

US President Donald Trump said that Washington and Warsaw were making 'major progress' toward establishing a US military base in Poland, potentially giving the United States a permanent military foothold on NATO's eastern flank even as his administration reviews its broader troop presence in Europe.

Oil prices fall 1% on hopes of limited supply disruptions

Scientists discover new wild cat species in Bolivia for the first time in a century

Researchers say they have identified a new species of wild cat previously unknown to science, marking the first such discovery in about 100 years.Leopardus tilcayo, known as the tilcayo tiger cat, is a small, slender and spotted feline that lives in the Bolivian Yungas. The discovery was published...

US Allows Iranian Delegation, Including Pezeshkian, To Attend UN General Assembly Amid War

The official noted that this year's delegation would be smaller than last year's, and would face travel restrictions along with a ban on purchasing luxury goods and other items.

Prize-winning author Phil Klay takes over at PEN America amid Israel-Hamas war rifts

Prize-winning author Phil Klay has been named the new president of PEN America

King Charles Meets With A.I. Executives About Safety Risks

The gathering in Scotland brought together industry leaders amid a growing debate about the safety risks of unchecked artificial intelligence.

US-Iran War LIVE Updates: Iran Strikes Ship In Hormuz; Pakistan Vows Saudi Defence Amid Houthi Threat

US-Iran War LIVE Updates: Iran’s IRGC said they struck and detained the Togo-flagged oil tanker Trend in the Strait of Hormuz after a fire broke out on board.

Bank of England Holds Rates Steady but Warns of Higher Inflation

The decision was announced a day after data showed the fastest pace of price increases in months.

The king and AI: Charles meets with tech leaders

LONDON — King Charles III is meeting on Thursday with senior leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and Nvidia to discuss artificial intelligence (AI) and make a plea to ensure the technology remains in the service of people and the planet. The gathering in Scotland, which includes Britain’s AI Minister Kanishka Narayan, was convened to

Former Republican senator Jon Kyl dies at 84, family announces

Former Arizona senator and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl has died at the age of 84, his family announced Thursday.The Republican politician was first elected to the US Senate in 1994 and was sworn in the following year and served until his retirement in 2013.Kyl briefly returned to the Senate in...

Saudis, Houthis exchange strikes; Yemenis flee as Middle East war spreads

US President Donald Trump says he is approaching a critical juncture over whether to restart massive attacks on Iran

Artists, promoters and venues have their own kind of power on troubled tours like Ed Sheeran's

After Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour and four supporting acts quit, music industry insiders explain who really calls the shots when trouble hits a major concert tour.

'I'm Staying': Indian-Origin US Congressman Slams Councilman's 'Take Your Curry, Go Home' Jibe

Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic representative from Illinois, responded on X after Palm Bay City Councilman Chandler Langevin directed the remark at him.

US Air Force F-16 crashes in Michigan training drill, pilot ejects safely

US Air Force F-16 crashes in Michigan training drill, pilot ejects safely

AI-assisted air traffic control is coming to some of the nation’s busiest skies

The software will initially serve only as a real-time decision tool during unexpected disruptions, though it is eventually designed to predict traffic flows and map routes days ahead

37 suspected illegal miners die in custody in central Nigeria

Nigerian authorities launched an investigation Thursday after 37 suspected illegal miners died in a civil defence detention facility in central Niger state, with conflicting accounts blaming either a disease outbreak or overcrowding and poor ventilation.

King Charles warns AI leaders of 'existential dangers'

CUMNOCK, Scotland — Britain's King Charles warned AI leaders on Thursday of the "existential dangers" posed by the technology falling into the wrong hands, saying safeguards were needed before it was too late. Charles was hosting the co-founders of chipmaker Nvidia and the Google DeepMind AI research laboratory, along with leaders from the AI providers OpenAI and Anthropic, in Scotland as concern grows that safety efforts are lagging behind the development of increasingly powerful systems. In recent weeks, the debate has centred on whether the industry can and should regulate itself, drawing interventions from figures including Pope Leo, Charles and U.S. President Donald Trump. Charles calls for controls 'before it is too late' Charles said artificial intelligence had the potential to improve and save lives, particularly in life sciences and medicine. But its creators were increasingly warning that it could develop darker capacities, "perhaps even to take life," he said. "There seems urgency in adequately considering the existential dangers of such technologies falling into the wrong han

US jobless claims fall to 196,000, lowest since mid-July

WASHINGTON — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, another sign that layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims slid to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, dropped to 203,250. Economists had expected claims to come in at 207,500, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a week. The American job market has remained sturdy despite higher gasoline prices that have squeezed businesses and consumers since the fighting with Iran began Feb. 28. Layoffs are low. Businesses, remembering the labor shortages that followed the end of pandemic lockdowns, are reluctant to let go of staff. They’re hiring — but modestly by the

China, US top diplomats discuss 'high-level interactions' in call, Beijing says

BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call that the two countries "should prepare well for the next stage of high-level interactions in the spirit of equality, respect and reciprocity," Wang's ministry said. Head-of-state diplomacy serves as the anchor of China-U.S. ties, Wang said, adding that the two sides should strengthen communication, advance cooperation, manage differences and respect each other's core interests. The call came a week ahead of an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S., with a meeting with President Donald Trump set to take place on September 24, Trump had said. The official Chinese summary of the call fell short of explicitly confirming an upcoming meeting between Xi and Trump, but said Wang and Rubio "held in-depth discussions focused on high-level exchanges between the two countries." The two top diplomats also discussed the situation in the Middle East, the Chinese foreign ministry said, a day after Wang hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Beijing for talks. In

UN-backed experts cite possible US war crimes in Iran strikes

GENEVA — Human rights experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab. They also accuse Iran’s theocratic government of carrying out crimes against humanity against its own people in a report published Thursday. The report, while not binding, adds to international evidence gathered about crimes in the war in Iran, and could eventually be used in efforts to reach justice in international courts. The fact-finding mission on Iran, chaired by jurist Sara Hossain of Bangladesh, is made up of independent experts and was created in 2022 by the Human Rights Council, the U.N.’s top human rights body, which is based in Geneva. The experts were expected to present their findings on Monday to the council, which is made up of 47 U.N. member countries. The team says the U.S. launched ‘indiscriminate’ attacks The international fact-finding mission says its findings on U.S. war crimes center on a pair of U.S. airstr

US stocks rise after oil prices fall and pressure from bond market eases

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are rising Thursday and recovering most of their losses for the week. Falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market helped Wall Street reverse many of its moves from the prior day, when the Federal Reserve hiked its main interest rate for the first time in years and suggested more may be ahead as it tries to get the nation’s high inflation under control. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9 percent and was on track for just its second rise in the last nine days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 213 points, or 0.4 percent, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4 percent higher. Stocks got a boost after the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil slid 2.3 percent to $103.38. That’s down sharply from the nearly $110 it reached earlier in the week on worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East instead of going to customers worldwide. Brent is of course still much more expensive than the $72 per barrel that it cost earlier this summer, but Thursday’s slide helped pull yields lower in the bond market and r

Pennsylvania seeks CDC help on measles outbreak, demands recognition of deaths

WASHINGTON — The Pennsylvania health department said it was requesting emergency support from the U.S. CDC as it grapples with one of the country's largest and most deadly measles outbreaks, according to a document reviewed by Reuters on Thursday. The request comes on condition that the federal agency recognize four measles-associated deaths reported by the state, raising the stakes in a dispute with the Trump administration. The state's measles outbreak has become the focus of a standoff between U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat. Kennedy has cast doubt on whether deaths reported in U.S. measles outbreaks since he took office were due to the virus or another cause, and instructed the CDC not to include the Pennsylvania fatalities in a national tally. Disease experts say the move represented highly unusual interference by a health secretary in the determination by state health officials and could minimize the risks of measles in the eyes of the public. Kennedy has accused Shapiro of politicizing the outbreak in his state and of failing to

Trump to host Xi amid pomp, low expectations

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military honor guard has been rehearsing and the new White House helipad is ready. But will Xi Jinping and Donald Trump achieve lift-off at their summit next week? Warnings of an AI apocalypse hang heavy over the Chinese president's first White House meetings with Trump, as both countries race for technological supremacy. Trump's Iran war casts a long shadow too, as China seeks to avoid U.S. sanctions against countries dealing with Tehran, despite reports that Beijing supplied Tehran with intelligence for a strike on U.S. troops. A simmering trade war between the world's two largest economies is of even greater concern, while the threat of military confrontation over Taiwan looms large as well. Behind it all is a desire to manage tensions between a superpower keen to keep its place at the top and a rapidly rising rival determined to make the 21st century a Chinese one. The U.S. president, media-minded as ever, is also focused on the optics of the visit, having been hosted with high pomp during his own state visit to China in May. Trump, who was welcomed by China's v

Brazil's Lula announces 15% welfare boost ahead of election

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree on Thursday increasing benefits of his flagship welfare program by 15 percent, weeks before the first round of the presidential elections. The minimum monthly benefit per family of Bolsa Familia (Family Grant) will rise to 691 reais ($134) next month, from 600 reais. The decree says that it adjusts payments for accumulated inflation since March 2023. The measure will increase the purchasing power of voters, who will decide in October whether to grant Lula a fourth, nonconsecutive term, or elect Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro , in a likely run-off vote. Polls show the two are currently running neck-and-neck. “Bolsa Familia is central to our strategy to look after more vulnerable families, guarantee income so that people emerge from poverty and don’t suffer from food insecurity,” Finance Minister Dario Durigan said. The additional spending would be absorbed within existing budget allocations and would not represent a new expenditure, he added. Lula introduced the cash-tr

King Charles sounded like 'lottery winner' after Diana's death, her brother writes

LONDON — Britain's King Charles sounded "like a lottery winner" after the death of his late first wife Diana, her brother writes in his forthcoming book, new extracts of which were published on Thursday. Diana's brother Charles Spencer said the then-Prince Charles was "giddily elated" in the immediate aftermath of Diana's death in 1997, possibly because he felt it meant he was freer to marry again, according to passages in the Daily Mail. Charles on Wednesday took the unusual step of responding to criticism after the first extracts of Spencer's book were published in the Daily Mail, saying via a spokesperson that grief could impact reason, judgment and memory. There was no new comment from the king on the latest excerpts, which also stated that Diana went to a site of many suicides on Britain's south coast, but that her love for her sons, William and Harry, "stopped her from going further." "It is a sad fact that, in her later years, Diana drove herself more than once to Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in England, while contemplating ending it all," Spencer wrote. Diana was kil

Trump says progress made toward establishing US Army base in Poland

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Thursday that progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland, crediting "the bold leadership" of Polish President Karol Nawrocki. "If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Poland has been pushing for a bigger allied presence on NATO's eastern flank after Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022.

Harry makes first public appearance since return to UK

LONDON — Prince Harry on Thursday made his first public appearance since his shock return to Britain from the United States with his family three weeks ago. Harry, who quit Britain for California six years ago with his wife Meghan amid tensions with his family, attended a fundraising evening for his Invictus Games for wounded veterans in London. Dressed in a smoking jacket adorned with his military decorations, the 42-year-old prince took selfies with injured former soldiers at the event. Meghan did not accompany him. Along with their two children, Harry and Meghan landed back in the UK on August 26 and have kept a relatively low profile since. Speculation abounds over the reasons for their return, given that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left in the middle of a falling-out with his family, which only worsened after Harry published his tell-all memoir "Spare." His appearance at the event comes after the brother of Princess Diana, Harry's mother, unleashed a barrage of stinging criticism against King Charles III's behaviour towards his ex-wife. In a memoir being serialised in the Daily Ma

'In our lane': Fed's Warsh defies Trump but still fighting for credibility

WASHINGTON — U.S. Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh delivered the interest rate hike this week that many economists think surging inflation required, defying President Donald Trump — but questions about the central bank chief's credibility linger. The Fed on Wednesday raised rates in the world's largest economy by 25 basis points to between 3.75 and 4.00 percent, with policymakers signalling at least one more rate hike before year-end. Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the Fed's independence to set monetary policy since taking office, initiating a criminal probe into Warsh's predecessor and attempting to fire another Fed governor in his quest for lower rates to spur economic activity. He frequently insulted and berated former chair Jerome Powell, but delivered a muted — if still extraordinary — response to Warsh's announcement of the rate hike. Trump told reporters he spoke with Warsh before the Fed's meeting, telling him to "do what you want" and ascribing the decision to raise rates — which the Fed chair voted for and stood by — to a "hostile board." Asked by a

Independent voters give Trump the truth: His midterm convention made no impact

The key voting bloc in the upcoming midterms was unfazed by the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, during which Donald Trump promised Americans $5,000 checks if his party held onto power in Congress

Spain's PM shares cryptic EU maple leaf image as Canada moves closer to Europe

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez posted an image combining the European Union flag with a red maple leaf Thursday as Canada pursues deeper ties with Europe.The post came as Prime Minister Mark Carney said an enhanced Canada-EU partnership would be debated and face a final vote in...

Latvia bars NHL's Ovechkin, Trump Jr. wedding benefactor from entering country

Latvia has barred Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin from entering the country days after he appeared in a political ad for a party backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, has decided to include Alexander Ovechkin and Umar Kremlev on the list of personae non gratae and to prohibit...

Buckingham Palace hits back at claims in a book by Princess Diana's brother

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace has forcefully denied a claim by the brother of the late Princess Diana that King Charles III said she his ex-wife would soon be forgotten after her death. In a new book, Charles Spencer recounts the traumatic days after Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997...

Experts share the everyday habit that can slash hospital risk for heart patients

The new review found exercise-based rehabilitation slashed the risk of heart attacks by 28 per cent

NBI nabs immigration officer allegedly involved in human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested an officer of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Pasay City for allegedly being involved in a human trafficking scheme. In an interview on Thursday, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the BI officer is supposedly connected to

Academic admits using fake Jeffrey Epstein fund letter to claim $750,000 settlement

A Florida academic has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after admitting she altered a rejection letter from a Jeffrey Epstein victims compensation programme to obtain $750,000 from another fund.According to the Associated Press, Jennifer Percival, 46, entered the plea on September 14 in federal court...