BRUSSELS: Chinese online giant AliExpress must do more to protect consumers from illegal product sales, the European Commission said Wednesday in an interim finding that could open the way to heavy fines. While noting some progress, “the Commission preliminarily found AliExpress in breach of its obligation to assess and mitigate risks related to the dissemination…
TOKYO: Sweltering temperatures prompted heatstroke alerts in multiple Japanese regions on Wednesday, with dozens of people seeking emergency medical care in the capital Tokyo. The hot weather was headline news in the country, which last year experienced its joint warmest summer ever as climate change fuelled extreme heatwaves around the globe. Record temperatures were logged…
While Moscow has talked up its partnership with Iran, the deal does not require Russia to come to Iran’s military aid When Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, officials in Russia described the current escalation in the Middle East as “alarming” and “dangerous.” Still, Russian media were quick to stress the potential positives for Moscow. Among…
Canada’s G7 summit, under first-time host Mark Carney, had a carefully planned agenda. That programme was upended by the unfolding war between Israel and Iran and US President Donald Trump’s early departure. Still, Carney said on Tuesday that this summit “can begin a new era of co-operation that promotes long-term resilience over short-term efficiency”. Here…
How the Air India crash investigation is unfolding The Air India Boeing 787, that crashed in Ahmedabad last week, seen here over Melbourne in December Less than 40 seconds. That’s how long Air India Flight 171 was airborne before it plunged into a densely populated neighbourhood in Ahmedabad in one of India’s most baffling aviation…
HANOI: A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced three drug traffickers to death for smuggling and selling more than 50 kilos of heroin and synthetic drugs, state media reported Wednesday. Communist Vietnam has some of the toughest drug laws in the world with courts routinely handing out death sentences for drug convictions. After the one-day…
AMSTERDAM: A fearsome stuffed crocodile hangs menacingly from the roof, mouth wide open, sharp teeth ready to strike: welcome to the Art Zoo, the new offbeat museum opening in Amsterdam. Aiming to elevate taxidermy to high art, Art Zoo opens Thursday in the heart of the Dutch capital, in a famous building from the 17th…
ATHENS: Greece has repatriated 105 of its citizens and foreign nationals from Israel, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, as the Iran-Israel conflict raged. “The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes,“ it said in a statement. Along with Greek citizens and their families,…
NEW YORK: Meta offered $100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative AI teams, the startup’s CEO, Sam Altman, has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding $100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman…
STRASBOURG: The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Wednesday that Russia does not “stand a chance” against NATO, but the alliance needs to “stick together” in the face of a belligerent Moscow. Speaking ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands with alliance members under US pressure to massively ramp up military budgets, Kallas warned…
