World

US President-elect Joe Biden holds up his fist after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 7, 2020, after being declared the winners of the presidential election. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) US president-elect Joe Biden has a foot fracture and will likely have to wear a medical boot, his team said Sunday after the 78-year-old was taken to the doctor because he had slipped while playing with his dog. Biden, who will become the oldest US president upon his January swearing-in, suffered the injury Saturday with Major, one of his two German shepherds. The president-elect’s personal physician Kevin…

Four French police on Sunday risked being charged over the beating and racial abuse of a black music producer that shocked France and intensified controversy over new security legislation. Tens of thousands protested across France Saturday against the security bill — which would restrict the right of the press to publish the faces of on-duty police — with the rally in Paris ending in bitter clashes. The beating of music producer Michel Zecler — exposed in video footage published last week — has become a rallying cause for anger against the police in France, accused by critics accuse of institutionalised…

FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. PHOTO: Michel Euler/Pool via REUTERS//File Photo Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power promising real democracy, promoting women and feverishly planting trees across his vast country, snapping up the Nobel Peace Prize along the way. But Abiy’s image of a modern, peacemaking reformer risks shattering entirely after he sent troops and warplanes into Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a move analysts fear could push Africa’s second most populous country into a long, devastating civil war. Abiy, 44, announced the campaign on November 4, saying it came in response to an attack by Tigray’s ruling…

Dave Prowse, the British actor behind the menacing black mask of Star Wars villain Darth Vader has died at the age of 85, his agent said Sunday. A former body-builder turned actor, Prowse’s towering stature at almost two metres (6.5 feet) clinched him the role of the infamous antagonist in the original Star Wars trilogy. Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the epic saga, tweeted that he was “so sad to hear David Prowse has passed.” “He was a kind man & much more than Darth Vader,” Hamill wrote. “Actor-Husband-Father-Member of the Order of the British Empire-3 time British…

Indonesia’s Mount Ili Lewotolok erupted Sunday, belching a column of smoke and ash four kilometres (2.5 miles) into the sky, triggering a flight warning and the closure of the local airport. There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption in a remote part of the Southeast Asian archipelago. But authorities raised the volcano’s alert status to its second-highest level as they warned of possible lava flows. A two-kilometre no-go zone around the crater was also expanded to four kilometres, while flights were advised to steer clear of the area as volcanic ash rained down on East Nusa…

The World Health Organization on Thursday urged African countries to improve their capacity to vaccinate populations against Covid-19, warning the continent was still "far from ready" for mass immunisation. With three coronavirus vaccines now showing efficacy rates of 70 percent or more, the UN body called on Africa to "ramp up" preparations for "the continent's largest-ever immunisation drive". The African region is so far only 33 percent ready to roll out Covid-19 vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. That figure, based on data provided by 40 countries on a series of "readiness criteria", is well below…

(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 5, 2020 shows the logo of social media TikTok on a tablet screen in Toulouse, southwestern France. – Video-snippet sharing sensation TikTok on November 2, 2020 announced a deal to give users access to Sony Music Entertainment’s massive archive of hit tunes. The companies did not disclose financial terms of the agreement, which will let clips of music owned by Sony be used in TikTok posts. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP)The US Treasury on Wednesday said it had extended by seven days the November 27 deadline given to the Chinese owner…