WARSAW (AFP) --  Poland will lift most of its coronavirus restrictions by the end of May, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. “The worst in terms of infections is probably behind us,” Morawiecki told reporters, pointing to a decrease in the number of infections and deaths as grounds for “cautious optimism”. Shopping malls and museums can reopen on May 4, he said. The three first school years will also resume on May 4, while other schoolchildren wi

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Coca-Cola reported Monday a decline in first-quarter earnings amid continued weakness in away-from-home sales, but said increased vaccine availability was boosting sales in some markets. The soda giant, which relies on sporting events, concerts and other public venues for a significant fraction of its sales, described performance as a mixed bag, depending on the region. Coca-Cola scored stronger volumes in China and India, but lower volumes in the United States and Europe du

GENEVA (AFP) -- The UN rights chief warned Tuesday of possible crimes against humanity in Myanmar and said it seemed to be heading towards a massive conflict like the one ravaging Syria. In a statement, the UN rights office urged countries to take immediate and decisive action to push the military leaders behind a February 1 coup in Myanmar to stop their "campaign of repression and slaughter of its people." "I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflic

Tottenham Hotspur are to take action after Korean star Son Heung-min was subjected to "abhorrent racist abuse" on social media following Sunday's 3-1 defeat by Manchester United. Son is the second Spurs player in as many matches to suffer such abuse following Davinson Sanchez after the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on Apr. 4. Son scored Spurs's goal but was involved in a controversial incident when he went down clutching his face after contact with Scott McTominay. That resulted i

DUBAI (AFP) -- The economies of "early inoculating" countries in the Middle East and North Africa will bounce back to pre-pandemic levels next year, the IMF said Sunday, after raising its 2021 MENA growth forecast. The region, which includes the Arab countries and Iran, saw its real GDP growth shrink by 3.4 percent in 2020 due to lower oil prices and sweeping lockdowns to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.  But with rapid vaccination campaigns underway particularly in the Gu

GWACHEON (AFP) -- The Brave Girls were losing courage just weeks ago, on the verge of breaking up and abandoning their dreams of K-pop stardom after years of going nowhere. Then a pseudonymous YouTuber called Viditor uploaded a compilation of them performing on South Korean army bases -- and saved their careers. "Rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin'/I am waiting for you/Babe just only you," they chant, as wildly enthusiastic uniformed conscripts dance and wave glow-sticks. It went viral

YANGON (AFP) -- The death toll in the Myanmar military‘s crackdown on protesters has passed 500, as armed rebel groups on Tuesday threatened the junta with retaliation if the bloodshed does not stop. 　World powers have ramped up their condemnation of the military’s campaign against the anti-coup movement that is demanding the restoration of the elected government and the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 　Washington suspended a trade pact with Myanmar and UN chief Anto

BERLIN (AFP) -- The city of Berlin on Tuesday suspended vaccinations with the AstraZeneca jab for under-60s, amid reports of further cases of blood clots among people who had received it. 　“We are provisionally stopping vaccinations with AstraZeneca for under-60s,” said the German capital‘s health minister Dilek Kalayci, adding that it was a “precautionary measure” while the city awaited an official recommendation from federal health authorities.

BEIJING (AFP) - Smartphone maker Xiaomi on Tuesday became the latest Chinese company to enter the burgeoning electric vehicle industry in the world‘s largest car market, as it announced a $10 billion investment over the next decade. 　The company, which is already among the biggest smartphone makers in the world, said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it will set up a subsidiary for its smart electric vehicle business, with a 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) initial phase o

ATLANTA (AFP) -- Eight people, most of them Asian women, were killed in shootings at three different spas in the US state of Georgia Tuesday, with a 21-year-old white man in custody on suspicion of staging all three attacks, police said. The shootings came with many Asian-Americans already on edge following a recent spike in hate crimes against the community, and triggered immediate fears that Asian-run businesses may have been deliberately targeted. Four of the victims were killed at Young's

ROME (AFP) -- The Vatican on Monday said the Catholic Church does not have the power to bless same-sex unions despite their "positive elements", calling it impossible for God to "bless sin". The Vatican's powerful office responsible for church doctrine, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), issued a response to the question, "Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?" "Negative," read the r

TOKYO (AFP) -- Spectators will be barred from the start of the Tokyo Olympics torch relay, organisers said Monday, announcing a pared-back launch as the countdown to the postponed Games begins in earnest. Fans were told to stay away from next week's "simplified" starting ceremony and first leg of the nationwide relay, which was put on hold a year ago when the Olympics were delayed over the coronavirus. "The grand start ceremony and the first section of the Fukushima torch relay.

YANGON (AFP) -- Myanmar's junta late Sunday imposed martial law in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 18 protesters were killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup. Sunday's violence brings the number of people killed in mass protests since the military wrenched civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power to around 100, though activists and rights groups believe it could be higher. The junta has repeatedly justified its power grab by alleging widespread el

The EU's medicines regulator approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, making it the fourth jab to get the green light for the 27-nation bloc. "This is the first vaccine which can be used as a single dose," Emer Cooke, chief of the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA), said in a statement. (AFP)

Competitors at this year's Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games will be offered coronavirus vaccines bought from China, Olympic chief Thomas Bach announced Thursday. The Chinese Olympic Committee have made "an offer to make additional vaccine doses available to participants for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022", Bach said. "The IOC will pay for these additional doses of vaccines for the Olympic and Paralympic teams. "The IOC will also pay for two doses more that ca

Prince William on Thursday defended the British royal family after his younger brother Harry and wife Meghan accused them of racism in a bombshell interview watched around the world. "We're very much not a racist family," William told reporters during a visit to a multi-racial school in a deprived area of east London. The Duke of Cambridge, son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, added that he had yet to speak to Harry in California since the interview first aired in the United S

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Equities rose in Asia on Monday as investors took a breather following last week's heavy selling, with a drop in US Treasury yields giving markets some much-needed stability, while the passage of Joe Biden's stimulus through the House provided some cheer. However, observers warned that trading floors were still gripped by fears the expected global economic recovery will fuel inflation and force a hike in interest rates earlier than previously thought, removing a key pillar of

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) -- Prices of popular gadgets such as PlayStations and iPhones could rise because of microchip shortages caused by a "perfect storm" of coronavirus-driven demand, supply chain disruptions and trade war stockpiling, experts warn. In the months after the pandemic hit, people stuck at home went on a spending spree to buy items including extra monitors, new computers and tablets -- each of which runs on all-important chips. Compounding the crisis are US-China tensi

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced concern Wednesday over China's incursions into Japanese territorial waters, recommitting to the ally's defense. In a telephone call, Blinken and Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi "expressed concern over increased Chinese assertiveness around the Senkaku Islands following China's enactment of a new coast guard law," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. "Secretary Blinken reaffirmed that the Senkakus fall within the scope

Uber on Wednesday reported another hefty loss in the final three months of 2020, though the company's food delivery operations partly offset the hit taken from the decline in ridesharing during the pandemic. Thanks to that offset, the loss of $968 million was narrowed slightly from $1.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Uber. Revenue in the quarter was $3.2 billion, a 16-percent decrease from the same period a year earlier. "While 2020 certainly tested our resili