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By Julie Chabanas and Frankie Taggart WASHINGTON, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – Millions of Americans braced Monday for pay and welfare checks to stop within days as Congress careened toward a damaging government shutdown, with Republican right wingers blocking attempts to pass a budget. Four months after barely avoiding the more serious prospect of a credit default, the world’s largest economy is once again on the verge of a convulsion, with the lights due to […]
WASHINGTON, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden said the United States officially recognized the Pacific nations of Cook Islands and Niue Monday, as he hosted regional leaders in a bid to wrest influence from China. The announcement came at the start of a summit with the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, where US officials said the president was announcing a more assertive American stance in the region. Biden said in statements that Washington recognized […]
BEIJING, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – North Korea will allow foreign nationals to enter the country from Monday, Chinese state media reported, after over three years of Covid-induced isolation. North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020, when it shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with even its own nationals prevented from entering. But it is this month showing signs of re-opening, with leader Kim Jong […]
MANILA, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippine Coast Guard said Monday it had removed a floating barrier at a disputed reef that was allegedly deployed to stop Filipinos accessing the traditional fishing ground. The statement was issued hours after Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano vowed to take “all appropriate actions” for the removal of barriers installed by the Chinese coast guard at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. A 300-metre (328-yard) long […]
LONDON, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – A British nurse jailed for life for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others will face a retrial on an outstanding charge of attempted murder, prosecutors said on Monday. Lucy Letby, 33, was convicted last month of killing five baby boys and two baby girls, making her Britain’s most prolific child serial killer in modern times. But the jury in the months-long trial at Manchester Crown Court […]
JAKARTA, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo said new regulation on social media commerce could be passed as soon as Tuesday, as Jakarta aims to rein in sales on tech platforms it says are harming local businesses. Indonesian users spent more money on TikTok than anywhere else in Southeast Asia over the past year, as the app’s e-commerce arm rapidly grew to gain a substantial regional market share and millions of sellers […]
HANGZHOU, China, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – ESports tickets costing up to $137 are like gold dust at the Asian Games with desperate fans signing up multiple times through a lottery system in hope of seeing their gaming heroes live. For the unlucky ones, they have instead waited outside the gates of the futuristic-looking Hangzhou Esports Center, craning their necks to look inside the official Games buses passing through. ESports is making its debut as […]
MANILA, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines vowed Monday to take “all appropriate actions” for the removal of floating barriers allegedly installed by the Chinese coast guard at a disputed reef to stop Filipinos accessing the traditional fishing ground. A 300-metre (328-yard) long floating barrier was found across the entrance of Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea last week during a routine resupply mission to Filipino fishermen plying the waters near the Chinese-controlled […]
BANGKOK, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese tourists received a personal welcome from the Thai prime minister Monday as they arrived in Bangkok under a new visa-free scheme the government hopes will give the kingdom’s vital tourism sector a boost. Traditional dancers accompanied a smiling PM Srettha Thavisin as he greeted visitors arriving from Shanghai at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, handing out welcome gifts. “I was shocked by the welcoming ceremony, and I’m very happy. It’s […]
By Victoria LUKOVENKO KYIV, Ukraine, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – Ukraine has received US Abrams battle tanks, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday, boosting Kyiv’s forces as they seek to break through heavily-fortified Russian defensive lines. The announcement came just after Ukraine claimed it had killed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in a missile strike on Moscow’s naval headquarters in Crimea last week in what would be a major embarrassment for Russia. “Abrams are […]
By Sunghee Hwang Her face is a deepfake. Her body belongs to a team of similar-sized actors. But she sings, reads the news, and sells luxury clothes on TV as AI humans go mainstream in South Korea. Meet Zaein, one of South Korea’s most active virtual humans, who was created by Pulse9, an artificial intelligence company that is working to bring corporate dreams of the perfect employee to life. Pulse9 has created digital humans for […]
By Martin PARRY India claimed the first world record of the Hangzhou Asian Games on Monday as hosts China snapped up more gold medals and 15-year-old skateboarder Hinano Kusaki triumphed for Japan. The Indian trio of Divyansh Panwar, Rudrankksh Patil and Aishwary Tomar blew away the field with a new world best 1,893.7 points to win the men’s 10m air rifle team event on day two of the multi-sports extravaganza. They beat the previous mark […]
