International experts are downplaying fears of a new pandemic amid a sharp rise in cases of child pneumonia and other respiratory infections in China and parts of the US and Europe. Images from crowded waiting rooms suggest hospitals in China are under pressure, although Beijing officials are yet to concede their facilities have been overwhelmed … Read more
The parents of a little boy who died in his sleep a day after Christmas have described the moment their “world fell apart”. Darren Midgley and Cheryl Szulhan’s son Jack, aged just 16 months, died on Boxing Day in 2022 at their home in Yorkshire, in northern England. Jack’s father described Christmas as “wonderful”, saying … Read more
The U.N. Security Council passed a new resolution that calls for speeding up humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza, but without the original insistence on an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas. The United States and Russia abstained from Friday’s vote, which was delayed for days as diplomats sought to avoid a veto by … Read more
The UN Security Council has approved a toned-down bid to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza that stopped short of a call for a ceasefire because of fears the United States and Israel would veto the motion. The US, which is Israel’s main ally had threatened to veto the Security Council motion during days of wrangling, … Read more
LONDON — The elusive artist Banksy displayed his latest work on a London street corner and it was taken less than hour after he confirmed its installation Friday. A red stop sign with three military drones on it was taken in the middle of the day by a man with bolt cutters as witnesses snapped … Read more
NEW YORK — Michael Mann, who gave Crockett a white Ferrari on “Miami Vice,” pummeled cars with bullets in the shootout in “Heat” and set the thriller “Collateral” in a taxicab, has had an affection for automobiles since growing up in Chicago. “It’s a city in which you drive, you know?” Mann says. “It rains … Read more
Salwa Tibi recalls how she covered several miles on foot in southern Gaza in a desperate search for blankets and sheets that might help keep her four children and other young relatives warm at night. The aid worker, 53, told CNN she and her husband were “full of fear” as they ventured out to buy … Read more
SmileDirectClub, the international direct-to-consumer dentistry and orthodonistry company that sold teeth aligners, has shut down less than three months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The teledentistry company, founded in 2014, said in a statement posted on its website Friday that it “has made the incredibly difficult decision to wind down its global operations, effective … Read more
HONG KONG — China released draft guidelines Friday aimed at curbing excessive spending on online gaming in the latest move by the ruling Communist Party to keep control of the virtual economy. The proposal caused shares in the biggest Chinese gaming companies, Tencent and NetEase, to plunge in Hong Kong. China’s gaming regulator, the National … Read more
Palestinians who have applied for their families to arrive in Australia on temporary visas say they are being left in the lurch after the federal government told them it cannot assist the evacuation of non-immediate family members from the war zone. The Department of Home Affairs announced last month that 860 temporary visas were approved … Read more
