Australia will force Meta and Google to pay for news shared on their platforms under a new scheme unveiled Thursday, threatening to tax them if they refuse to strike deals with local media.Traditional media companies the world over are in a battle for survival as precious advertising dollars are hoovered up online.Australia wants big tech …
Australia will spend US$385 million to establish a team from Papua New Guinea in its rugby league competition, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, a move designed to help ward off China.Papua New Guinea has long lobbied for a side in Australia’s National Rugby League but safety fears and a lack of funding in the …
Australia to spend $385 mn on PNG rugby league team with eye on China Read More »
US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday appointed election denier Kari Lake to be the new director of Voice of America, the state-funded international media organization.VOA has reach around the world, with programming in a slew of African, Asian and European languages, including Somali, Dari and French.It receives US funding but is generally considered a reliable, …
Trump taps election denier to head global media operation VOA Read More »
Syria’s new interim prime minister pledged to protect minority rights as Washington’s top diplomat flew to the region on Thursday to urge an “inclusive” transition after the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought a spectacular end …
New Syria PM says will ‘guarantee’ all religious groups’ rights Read More »
Taiwan said Thursday it detected 16 Chinese warships in waters around the island, one of the highest numbers this year, as Beijing intensifies military pressure on Taipei.The navy vessels, along with 34 Chinese aircraft, were spotted near Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6:00 am (2200 GMT) Thursday, according to the defence ministry’s daily tally.Beijing …
Taiwan says detects 16 Chinese warships around island Read More »
Mohammed Naeem knew the Kabul street where he and his brothers built matching apartment buildings was too narrow, but he was still in disbelief as their homes were reduced to rubble to widen the road. He had received notice 10 days earlier that he would have to destroy three-quarters of his building immediately, one of thousands …
Vulnerable Afghans struggle as Taliban rebuild Kabul roads Read More »
Faced with a stuttering economy, political turbulence in the eurozone and the prospect of renewed trade tensions with the United States, the European Central Bank is Thursday set to cut interest rates again.It would be the ECB’s third straight reduction as it increasingly focuses on spurring lending to boost consumer spending and business investment in …
Amid weak eurozone and political turmoil, ECB to cut rates again Read More »
The movers and shakers of the video game industry will gather Thursday in Los Angeles to celebrate the annual Game Awards, the sector’s equivalent of the Oscars.But no amount of glitz and glamour can put a sheen on what has been one of the worst years in the industry’s history, marked by waves of layoffs …
Video game bosses gather at ‘darkest hour’ for industry Read More »
Pope Francis travels to the French island of Corsica Sunday to visit the small Catholic community, just days after having skipped the reopening ceremony for Notre Dame cathedral.Francis will attend a conference on the importance of popular religious cultures in rousing flagging faith and drawing new believers.The Argentine pontiff, 87, will give two speeches in …
Pope to champion popular Catholic traditions in Corsica Read More »
In a patch of South America rich in lithium, used to make batteries for electric cars and other tech, Bolivia is lagging behind its neighbors in the race to mine the key metal.An area called the Lithium Triangle which spills over the borders of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina is home to 60 percent of the …
Lithium-rich Bolivia lags behind in race to mine key metal Read More »
