Biden to leave Wednesday for shortened overseas trip to Japan
President Joe Biden once hoped his trip to Asia this week would strengthen American alliances, counter China's influence and prove to Americans he's got the stamina for another term in office.
2023-05-17 17:18
Senate GOP Covid origins probe finds circumstantial evidence but no 'smoking gun' to support lab leak theory
A Republican-led investigation into the origins of Covid-19 has unearthed additional, though circumstantial, evidence supporting the theory that the virus likely escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, but it did not find any "smoking gun" evidence to prove the theory, according to a new report released on Wednesday.
2023-05-17 17:18
In Taiwan, former UK PM Truss warns against appeasing China
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Former British prime minister Liz Truss said in Taiwan on Wednesday the West must avoid appeasing China and
2023-05-17 17:15
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy loses appeal against corruption conviction
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lost his appeal against a 2021 conviction for corruption and influence-peddling at the Paris court of appeals.
2023-05-17 16:57
China fines comedy troupe $2m for joke about the military
The joke had linked the behaviour of a comedian's dogs to a military slogan by President Xi Jinping.
2023-05-17 16:56
Tencent’s Revenue Grows Most in Over a Year After China Reopens
Tencent Holdings Ltd. grew revenue at its fastest pace in more than a year, fueling hopes the world’s
2023-05-17 16:55
Former French President Sarkozy loses appeal on corruption conviction; prison sentence upheld
A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld a one-year prison sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy on a conviction for corruption and influence peddling. His lawyer said he will take the case to France’s highest court and insisted that Sarkozy is innocent. The 68-year-old ex-president would not have to serve time until a final ruling, and if definitively convicted, he could ask to serve his sentence at home. Sarkozy, 68, was convicted in 2021 of trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. It was the first time in modern French history that a former president had been convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison. Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing and appealed the original ruling. The Paris appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and the sentence, according to a court official. His lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, called the decision “stupefying” and “unjust.” Sarkozy is entitled to ask to be detained at home with an electronic bracelet, standard practice for sentences of two years or less. He also received a two-year suspended sentence, which he will not have to serve if he commits no new offense in the next five years. It is one of multiple legal cases Sarkoky has faced. He was convicted later in 2021 of illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid. Last week, prosecutors asked for him to be sent to trial on charges that he took millions in illegal financing for his 2007 campaign by the regime of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
2023-05-17 16:49
Out of vetoes, Portugal president enacts law allowing euthanasia
LISBON Portugal's conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has signed a bill decriminialising euthanasia into law in the
2023-05-17 16:29
Drugmakers Eye $23 Billion Biotech Argenx Ahead of Key Data
European biotech firm Argenx SE is scheduled to release key drug trial data this summer. Deal-hungry Big Pharma
2023-05-17 16:20
'RHOBH' star Kyle Richards reunites with sister Kim for lookalike niece Whitney Davis' bridal bash, fans claim 'somebody just copy pasted Kyle'
Kyle Richards reunited with sister Kim Richards at Whitney Davis' bridal shower, prompting fans to marvel at the uncanny resemblance between her and her niece
2023-05-17 16:19
Diane Feinstein denies she was ever absent from US Senate after months spent recovering from shingles
Democrat Dianne Feinstein has denied that she was ever absent from the Senate after having spent months away recovering from shingles. Last week the 89-year-old California senator, the longest-serving Democrat in the current Senate, returned after her bout with shingles and cast a vote on the floor looking noticeably thinner and using a wheelchair, reported Associated Press. Her office said she would operate on a reduced schedule as she continued to recover. However, while interacting with reporters from the Slate and Los Angeles Times Ms Feinstein denied that she was ever absent. “No, I haven’t been gone,” she said to LA Times’s Ben Oreskes on Tuesday when asked how her Senate colleagues have responded to her return, reported Slate. “....I haven’t been gone, I’ve been working,” she said. Mr Oreskes then asked her whether she had been working from home. “No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” she said. “Please, you either know or don’t know.” Ms Feinstein faced calls to resign from her party colleagues due to questions around her cognitive abilities. With Feinstein back in the Senate, and voting in the committee, the panel approved three federal district court judge nominations that had been stalled. Her 10-week absence meant that the committee’s votes were tied along party lines and Democrats could not move forward with any nominees without Republican support. Party colleagues including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ro Khanna of California had called for her to resign. Ms Feinstein announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election. She has more than a year and a half left until her term expires in January 2025. She also did not assume the role of Senate President Pro Tempore earlier this year, which is usually reserved for the senior most senator of the majority party. Read More With Feinstein back in Senate, 3 of Biden's judicial nominees move forward California's Feinstein returns to Senate after monthslong absence Chuck Schumer ‘forced to have serious and painful talks’ with Dianne Feinstein over apparent cognitive decline What should Democrats do about Dianne Feinstein? Republican abortion debate inches toward resolution in South Carolina Trump fumes over Durham report as Giuliani accused of pardon scheme - live
2023-05-17 16:18
France's Sarkozy loses corruption appeal, must wear electronic tag
By Tassilo Hummel PARIS French former president Nicolas Sarkozy lost his appeal against a 2021 conviction for corruption
2023-05-17 15:56