A global summit aimed at tackling pressing climate change concerns must go ahead in-person, the event's president said, as fears mount that delegates will pull out because of surging coronavirus cases.The 26th edition of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties – COP26 – marks the biggest climate summit since the 2015 Paris negotiation.COP26 will involve negotiators from 196 countries and the European Union (EU), along with businesses, experts and world leaders, and is scheduled t

A giant African pouched rat called Magawa who spent years sniffing out landmines in the Cambodian countryside has stopped working and will enjoy a well-earned retirement eating bananas and peanuts, his employers said. Magawa, originally from Tanzania, was trained by the Belgian charity APOPO which says the rodent helped clear mines from 225,000 square metres of land in his five-year career, the equivalent of 42 football pitches.But after detecting 71 landmines and 38 items of unexplo

Indonesia's hijab-wearing, headbanging VOB count some of rock music's biggest stars among their fans, but the all-female heavy metal band faced a tougher battle in winning over their parents.The diminutive trio behind Voice of Baceprot ("Noisy Voice" in English) have spent years honing their skills at music festivals around the world's biggest Muslim majority nation after forming VOB as young teens in 2014. It is a long way from the conservative town in West

Ground down by the sapping realities of modern city life, China's youth are "lying flat", the latest buzzword for those tapping out of a culture of endless work with little reward.With growing inequality and rising costs of living nudging traditional markers of success out of reach, some young people are choosing to do the bare minimum at work, dialling back the go-getting aspirations their parents once harboured."Tang ping" – or "lying flat" – has emerged a

China has announced that it will allow each couple to have up to three children, marking the end of a strict two-child policy.The change was approved by President Xi Jinping in a politburo meeting, state media outlet Xinhua said.It comes after a census published every 10 years showed that China's population grew at its slowest pace in decades.This added pressure on Beijing to boost measures for couples to have more babies and avert a population decline.Shrinking populations are problemat

Five-year-old Pratham and his 10-month-old brother Ayush lost their father to COVID in April. Days later, at a different Delhi hospital, they lost their mother.Their world had changed and they didn't even know it. They couldn't understand why their parents were taking so long to come home. Relatives told Pratham that his mum and dad had gone out for work.

Sri Lankan authorities Sunday said they will sue the owners of a Singapore-registered cargo carrier which has burned for 11 straight days off the island's west coast and caused some of its worst-ever marine pollution.Police said a criminal investigation was also launched into the blaze aboard the MV X-Press Pearl, which was carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid and a huge amount of plastic raw materials.The intense fire, still burning at the rear of the 186 metre (610 feet) vessel, has destr

21 people were killed after hail, freezing rain and high winds hit runners taking part in a cross-country mountain race in China, state media said Sunday.The extreme weather struck a high-altitude section of the 100-kilometre (62-mile) race held in the scenic Yellow River Stone Forest in north western Gansu province Saturday afternoon.Among the dead were elite Chinese long-distance runners, local media reported.Official news agency Xinhua confirmed that 21 of the 172 participants had died, ci

Vaxxing, not waxing, is the new must-do before a hot date, with dating apps joining the White House on Friday to promote COVID-19 shots.Tinder, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa, Plenty of Fish, Bumble, and Badoo are all adding vaccination status to the more expected details on dating profiles as part of a rollout over the next few weeks.Getting the shot may also do more for lovers than keep them healthy, the White House said in a statement."According to research from OKCupid, people wh

She was already beyond child-bearing age, but Qelbinur Sedik says Chinese authorities still forcibly sterilised her, part of what she describes as a systematic campaign to suppress births of Uyghurs and other minorities in the tense Xinjiang region.In 2019, Sedik – then aged 50 – says she begged authorities to spare her from being fitted with the compulsory Intrauterine Device (IUD), as previous attempts resulted in severe pain and bleeding.So, community workers gave her no choice but to be s