Next decade to see nearly 5m fewer girls born globally
An estimated 4.7 million fewer girls are expected to be born globally in the next 10 years because of sex-selective practices in countries with a cultural preference for male offspring,…
More than 700 people saved from Mediterranean Sea
Rescue ships picked up more than 700 people trying to cross the Mediterranean in makeshift vessels this weekend, mainly off the coasts of Libya and Malta, a migrant aid group…
Germany plans COVID-19 booster shots from September: draft text
Germany plans to start offering COVID-19 booster shots to the elderly and at-risk from September 1, according to a draft document seen by AFP on Sunday, as concerns grow about…
Sydney lockdown
Residents visit a pharmacy in the Fairfield suburb of Sydney on Monday during the city's prolonged COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown. Photo: AFP
Delaying exercises could help ties with DPRK: official
South Korea's defense ministry said Monday that no decision had been made yet over the joint annual military exercise with the United States this summer. Boo Seung-chan, defense ministry spokesperson,…
Massive budgies flock to Australian outback
Thousands of parrots have descended on the Australian outback in a "mind-boggling" natural phenomenon. Budgerigars, small, nomadic, seed-eating parrots known colloquially as budgies or parakeets, have flocked to the Northern…
Despite Delta, Fauci says US not headed back to lockdown
The US is unlikely to be sent back into lockdown despite a surge in COVID-19 cases stemming from the Delta variant, top US scientist Anthony Fauci said Sunday. The US…
US senators finalize deal for historic $1 trillion bill
US senators on Sunday finalized a historic, trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal that is expected to be approved within days, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said. If passed by Congress and signed…
‘No eureka moment’: the evolution of climate science
What if Earth's atmosphere was infused with extra carbon dioxide, mused amateur scientist Eunice Foote in an 1856 research paper that concluded the gas was very good at absorbing heat.…
New Zealand apologizes for raids on Pacific people
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday formally apologized for police crackdowns in the 1970s that "unfairly targeted" the country's Pacific community. The infamous "dawn raids" were carried out…