Tattoos still give Japan the needle as Olympics loomWhen Mana Izumi got her first tattoo at 18, she wasn't trying to rebel or shatter any taboos -- just copy Japanese pop diva Namie Amuro's beach-bronze "surfer chick" look. In Japan, where tattoos have...
UN, Palestinians launch humanitarian appeal after funding cutsThe United Nations and the Palestinian Authority on Monday appealed for $350 million in humanitarian relief for Palestinians next year, saying that they needed more but had to be realistic in the face...
‘Positive surprise’: Investors soothed by Mexico budgetThe first budget presented by Mexico's new leftist government met with a positive initial response from financial markets on Sunday with banks describing the plans to keep a lid on spending as credibl...
Moroccan saffron farmers battle knockoff spicesSaffron farmers in southern Morocco have long taken pride in the coveted spice they produce from the purple-petalled Crocus sativus, but some are worried knockoff versions are threatening their busine...
White House closer to partial shutdown with wall demandPushing the government to the brink of a partial shutdown, the White House is insisting that Congress provide $5 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border despite lawmaker resistance from b...
Merkel’s whip urges steps to rein in social botsGermany must take steps to prevent online “social bots” from manipulating or hijacking sensitive political debates, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party warned Sunday. A recent...
Trial of Pole charged for links to Papuan separatists postponedAn Indonesian court Monday delayed the trial of a Polish man who faces up to 20 years' jail for alleged links to Papuan separatists because he did not have access to a translator. Jakub Fabian Skrzyps...
DR Congo to vote in end-of-an-eraDemocratic Republic of Congo goes to the polls this week in elections which could see the country emerge from 17 years of conflict-ridden rule under controversial President Joseph Kabila. Twenty-one c...
Truce in Yemen’s Hodeida due to start Tuesday after new clashesA ceasefire in Yemen's battleground port city of Hodeida and its surroundings will start on Tuesday, a UN official said, after renewed fighting threatened the hard-won accord struck in Sweden. The dea...
Child’s death highlights communication barriers on borderShortly before a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl died in US custody, her father signed a form stating that his daughter was in good health. But it's unclear how much the man understood on the form, which w...
Saudi Arabia slams US Senate vote as ‘interference’Saudi Arabia on Monday slammed as "interference" US Senate resolutions over its war in Yemen and critic Jamal Khashoggi's murder, warning that the move could have repercussions on its strategic ties w...
Ukrainian arts enjoy surprise revival in conflict-riven eastIn a grungy cellar bar, a young crowd sings along to a melancholy ballad in Ukrainian. Nothing unusual here -- except that the concert is taking place in the stronghold of Russian-backed separatists i...
North Korea warns on US sanctionsNuclear-armed North Korea condemned the United States over its latest sanctions measures, warning Washington's approach could "block the path to denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula forever". Afte...
Talks adopt ‘rulebook’ to put Paris climate deal into actionAlmost 200 nations, including the world's top greenhouse gas producers, China and the United States, have adopted a set of rules meant to breathe life into the 2015 Paris climate accord by setting out...
Pelosi flashes survival skills — and she’ll need them in ‘19Rep. Nancy Pelosi is formidable but not immortal. The California Democrat seems to have sewn up the race to become House speaker next month, but she also has accepted a maximum four-year expiration da...
‘All I want for Christmas is democracy,’ say Hungary protestersThousands of Hungarians thronged the streets of Budapest on Sunday in the fourth and largest protest in a week against what they see as the increasingly authoritarian rule of right-wing nationalist Vi...
Canada is looking for a way out of big Saudi arms deal, says PMCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking in an interview that aired on Sunday, said for the first time that his Liberal government was looking for a way out of a multibillion-dollar arms deal...
Indian politician gets life over 1984 anti-Sikh riotsA veteran Indian politician was given a life sentence on Monday over anti-Sikh riots in 1984 that killed nearly 3,000 people following the assassination of then-premier Indira Gandhi. The Delhi High C...
Japan police investigate cause of blast that hurt 42Japanese police were investigating Monday the cause of a powerful blast that ripped through a restaurant in the country's north overnight, injuring 42 people and damaging surrounding buildings. The ex...
Lion Air to resume search for victims of Indonesia crashLion Air announced Monday it was funding a multi-million dollar search effort using a Dutch company for the second black box and missing victims from doomed flight JT-610. The Boeing 737 MAX vanished...
Most teen drug use is down, but officials fret vaping boomTwice as many high school students used nicotine-tinged electronic cigarettes this year compared with last year, an unprecedented jump in a large annual survey of teen smoking, drinking and drug use....
Malaysia files criminal charges against Goldman Sachs in 1MDB probeMalaysia said on Monday it has filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs and two of the US bank's former employees in connection with a corruption and money laundering probe at state fund 1MDB. Gol...
Brazil faith healer accused of sexual abuse turns himself inA Brazilian faith healer who was accused of sexual abuse by more than 300 women has turned himself in a day after being officially ruled a fugitive, local news media reported on Sunday. João Teixeira...