The Fiji Times

Hong Kong to unveil bill making disrespect of China’s national anthem a crime

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong is set on Wednesday to present a controversial bill to lawmakers that prescribes jail terms of up to three years for anyone disrespecting the Chinese national anthem, a move critics say raises fresh fears over freedom of expression in the city. Chinese authorities have striven to instill greater patriotism...

Tennis: Osaka blows away Svitolina to reach Melbourne semis

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka set up a potential rematch of her controversial Flushing Meadows final against Serena Williams after beating Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-1 to reach her first Australian Open semi-final on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Osaka committed a string of unforced errors but still proved too strong for the sixth-seeded Ukrainian,...

Oil prices drop as China economic slowdown threatens to spread

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Tuesday on signs that an economic slowdown in China, the world’s second-largest economy and oil consumer, was spreading, stoking concerns over future fuel demand. The gloomy economic news has pulled down financial markets across Asia, including crude oil futures. International Brent oil futures <LCOc1> were at $62.26 per...

Drone disruption at Gatwick hits easyJet operations and costs

LONDON (Reuters) – British budget airline easyJet said on Tuesday that drone disruption at London’s Gatwick airport in December had cost it millions of pounds in lost operating revenue and additional costs. The airline had a 5 million pound ($6.44 million) revenue impact and 10 million pounds in extra costs after a mystery saboteur wrought...

Ten sailors dead, 14 saved after two ships catch fire near Crimea

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ten crew members have been found dead and 14 have been rescued after two ships caught fire in the Kerch Strait near Crimea, Russia’s transport ministry said on Monday, with a rescue operation still underway. The ministry said earlier on Monday that crew members were jumping into the sea to escape the...

L.A. teachers to stay off the job Tuesday despite progress in strike talks

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Some 30,000 striking Los Angeles teachers will stay off the job at least through Tuesday, despite headway made in marathon contract talks, because the teachers must ratify any tentative deal before the walkout can end, the union said on Monday. The United Teachers Los Angeles union said in a statement that...

IAAF clears 42 Russians to compete as neutrals in 2019

(Reuters) – Former world champions Sergey Shubenkov and Maria Lasitskene were among 42 Russian athletes cleared to compete as neutrals in international competition this year, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on Monday. The governing body said the athletes, who were also afforded neutral status last year, had met their doping review board’s...

Uganda plans restrictions on artists

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda’s government is proposing regulations including vetting new songs in a move critics say is aimed at discouraging negative comments about the authorities who are rattled by the popularity of pop star Bobi Wine. The 36-year-old singer turned opposition politician, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has amassed a large following among...

UK academic says was forced by UAE to confess to spying charges

NEW YORK (Reuters) – British academic Matthew Hedges said he had “no other option but to confess” during nearly seven months of detention in the United Arab Emirates on espionage charges. The UAE pardoned Hedges from a life sentence in November after showing a video of him purportedly confessing to being a member of Britain’s...

Antarctica’s krill shift south as icy waters warm

OSLO (Reuters) – Krill are shifting south towards Antarctica as the oceans warm, disrupting stocks that are eaten by penguins and whales and caught by industrial trawlers, scientists said on Monday. Main populations of the shrimp-like crustaceans, which grow to 6.5 cm (2.5 inches) long and form vast swarms, have moved about 440 km (275...

Deep freeze grips eastern United States, 12-year-old dies in Chicago

(Reuters) – Winter winds brought extreme cold and ice-slicked roads to the Midwestern and Eastern United States on Monday, with the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday and an ongoing government shutdown allowing many to heed official advice to stay indoors. The arctic blast of frigid air has followed a January storm that dumped...

PM May tries to tweak defeated Brexit plan, refuses to rule out no-deal

LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May sought to break the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit on Monday by proposing to seek further concessions from the European Union on a plan to prevent customs checks on the Irish border. With little time left until the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on...

Trust in Russia’s Putin falls to 13-year low: state pollster

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Public trust in President Vladimir Putin has fallen to its lowest level in 13 years, according to a Russian state pollster, a setback for the Kremlin which works hard to burnish Putin’s image as a wise father-of-the-nation-style leader. The poll, by the Public Opinion Research Centre, found that trust in Putin had...

UK begins EU citizen registration amid uncertainty, stress

LONDON (Reuters) – Millions of EU citizens living in Britain can register from Monday for settled status after Brexit but a research group warned that many could still be left out in the cold and some EU nationals are attending support groups to cope with the stress. Britain is home to about 3.5 million EU...

‘Missing’ boat of Indian migrants could be heading to New Zealand: police

NEW DELHI/KOCHI (Reuters) – A fishing boat that could contain more than 100 Indian migrants may be heading to New Zealand, Indian police said on Monday. The boat, which is carrying people from New Delhi and Tamil Nadu, left Munambam harbour in Kerala on Jan. 12, two officers involved in the case told Reuters. An...

Chinese scientist who gene-edited babies fired by university

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) – A Chinese scientist who created what he said were the world’s first “gene-edited” babies evaded oversight and broke ethical boundaries in a quest for fame and fortune, state media said on Monday, as his former university said he had been fired. He Jiankui said in November that he used a gene-editing...

Israel opens new airport to boost Eilat tourism, provide wartime back-up

TIMNA, Israel (Reuters) – Israel opened a new international airport outside its Red Sea resort of Eilat on Monday, hoping to boost winter tourism from Europeans and provide an alternative for times of conflict to its main gateway in Tel Aviv. Abutting the Jordanian border some 19 km (12 miles) north of Eilat, Ilan and...

EU sanctions Russians over Salisbury chemical attack

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union imposed sanctions on Monday on four Russian intelligence agents accused of preparing and carrying out a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in Britain last year. The decision by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels confirmed an earlier approval by the 28 governments, reported by Reuters...

Four arrested over Northern Ireland car bomb, New IRA suspected

LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland (Reuters) – Four men were arrested on Sunday over a car bomb attack in Northern Ireland’s Londonderry and police are looking into whether the New IRA militant group was responsible, officers said. Two men in their twenties were detained hours after the explosion on Saturday evening outside the city’s courthouse. Two other...

Modern China’s birth rate falls to lowest ever

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s birth rate last year fell to its lowest since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago, official data showed on Monday, with looser population controls failing to encourage couples to have more babies. The birth rate stood at 10.94 per thousand, the lowest since 1949 and down...

Germany bans Iranian airline on suspicion of spying, terror

BERLIN (Reuters) – Berlin has revoked Iranian airline Mahan’s right to operate in Germany, a senior government source told Reuters on Monday, giving both safety concerns and the suspicion that the airline was being used for military purposes as reasons. The government suspects the airline, which has been on a United States sanctions list since...

Ireland will not engage in bilateral Brexit negotiations – minister

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland will not engage in bilateral talks on Brexit and will only negotiate as part of the 27 remaining members of the European Union, Ireland’s European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said on Monday. The Sunday Times reported British Prime Minister Theresa May was seeking a treaty with Ireland to remove the contentious...

‘Rambo’ producer Vajna dies aged 74

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Andrew G. Vajna, the Hungarian movie producer behind “Rambo”, “Evita” and other international hits, died in his Budapest home on Sunday following a long illness, the Hungarian National Film Fund said. Vajna produced 59 films in all, including the 1996 Evita starring Madonna and Sylvester Stallone’s first three Rambo movies. He was...

‘Green Book’ boosts Oscar odds with big win at Producers Guild Awards

(Reuters) – In a surprise win on Saturday, Hollywood producers named “Green Book” the best film of 2018, boosting its profile just days before nominations are announced for the annual Academy Awards. The big win by “Green Book” at the 30th Producers Guild Awards set up the film, which stars Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen...

Sony’s RCA parts ways with R. Kelly after abuse uproar – media reports

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R. Kelly has parted ways with his Sony Music-owned RCA record label, Billboard magazine, Variety and the New York Times reported on Friday, and he no longer appears on the roster of artists on RCA’s website. The reported split follows decades of allegations of sexual and physical abuse by the Grammy-winning...

Gladys Knight defends decision to sing U.S. anthem at Super Bowl

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Singer Gladys Knight has defended her decision to perform the U.S. national anthem after receiving criticism from supporters of former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who used the pre-game tradition to protest racial injustice. Knight, a 74-year-old native of Atlanta, where the game will be played, agreed to sing “the Star Spangled Banner.”...

Netflix movie ‘Bird Box’ draws 80 million viewers; no data for ‘Roma’

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Netflix Inc on Thursday said more than 80 million member households will have watched its thriller movie “Bird Box” in its first four weeks, but the streaming giant gave no viewing data for Oscar hopeful “Roma.” “Bird Box,” starring Sandra Bullock and set in a post-apocalyptic society where survivors must wear...

No politics please for Baghdad bikers aiming to unite Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Roaring along Baghdad’s highways, the “Iraq Bikers” are doing more than showing off their love of outsized motorcycles and black leather: they want their shared enthusiasm to help heal Iraq’s deep sectarian rifts. Weaving in and out of traffic, only the lucky few ride Harley Davidsons – a rare and expensive brand...

UK’s May considering amending Good Friday deal to break Brexit impasse: Daily Telegraph

(Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May is considering solving a Brexit deadlock by amending a 1998 agreement that ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland after ditching attempts to negotiate a cross-party deal, the Daily Telegraph reported late on Sunday. May’s plan to amend the 1998 Good Friday Agreement would see the UK...

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Venezuela sponsors flights for migrants to leave Ecuador after murder