WORLD

London, United Kingdom | AFP | World dignitaries, celebrities and academics on Wednesday mourned Stephen Hawking, the British physicist who died aged 76 after a cosmic career in which his mental genius transcended his physical disability to probe the secrets of the universe. Propelled to stardom by his 1988 book “A …

Vienna, AUSTRIA | AFP | A UN’s anti-drug body added carfentanil, a synthetic substance estimated to be thousands of times more potent than morphine, to its list of controlled substances on Wednesday. The US had been pushing for the move, and welcomed the decision the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs’ (CND) …

Sevastopol, Undefined | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday thanked residents of Crimea for voting to annex the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, calling the move “real democracy” in a speech days ahead of Sunday’s presidential election. “With your decision you restored historical justice,” he told the crowd of …

Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION | AFP | Moscow on Tuesday shrugged off London’s decision not to send British ministers and royals to Russia’s World Cup over a nerve agent attack on a former double agent. The measure was one of a number announced by British Prime Minister Theresa May in response to …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expelled 23 diplomats and suspended high-level contacts with Russia including for the World Cup, saying her government found Moscow “culpable” of the nerve agent poisoning of a former spy. May said she would be pushing for a “robust …

Paris, France | AFP | The French government said Wednesday that it would take legal action against Google and Apple over “abusive business practices”, threatening fines that could further strain transatlantic ties as a trade war looms. “I believe in an economy based on justice and I will take Google …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he was pulling the Philippines out of the treaty underpinning the International Criminal Court, which is examining his deadly drug war. “I therefore declare and forthwith give notice… that the Philippines is withdrawing its ratification of the Rome Statute effective …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking, whose mental genius and physical disability made him a household name and inspiration across the globe, has died at age 76, his family said Wednesday. Propelled to superstardom by his 1988 book “A Brief History of Time”, which became …

Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Pilot-less flying taxis are being tested in New Zealand as part of a project backed by Google co-founder Larry Page that supporters say will revolutionise personal transport. New Zealand regulators late Tuesday approved plans for Zephyr Airworks, a subsidiary of Page’s company Kitty Hawk, …

Berlin, GERMANY | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel, bruised by half a year of post-election coalition haggling, was Wednesday elected by parliament to her fourth and likely final term at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy. Lawmakers in Berlin’s glass-domed Reichstag voted 364-315 with nine abstentions for Merkel who …