LONDON – The UK government has announced that driverless cars will be allowed on public roads from January next year. It also invited cities to compete to host one of three trials of the tech, which would start at the same time. In addition, ministers ordered a review of the UK’s road regulations to provide…
TEL AVIV – More than 100 Palestinians are said to have been killed after Israel intensified its bombardment of Gaza and warned of a long conflict ahead. Gaza’s only power plant caught fire as Israel carried out 60 air strikes, targeting sites associated with Hamas, the Islamist group which controls Gaza. UN staff members are…
NEW YORK – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged an immediate halt to violence in Gaza, saying the Palestinian territory is in a “critical condition”. “In the name of humanity, the violence must stop,” he said in New York after returning from a visit to the region. Israel launched an offensive against Palestinian Hamas…
SEOUL – South Korea has unveiled a $40bn (£23bn) stimulus package to help boost the economy. The funds will be used to offer financial support to small and medium-sized companies, create jobs and stimulate the property market. The stimulus was unveiled the same day data showed a decline in economic activity in South Korea. Gross…
SHANGHAI – When a Chinese customer asked for the interior of his new Bombardier Challenger 850 jet to be covered with pricey black carbon fibre, the designer was shocked – but happy to oblige. “We’ll do whatever you want, as long as it’s within the realm of certification,” said Sean Gillespie, executive vice president for…
NEW YORK – Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is suggesting that workers shift to a three-day work week. The catch: He would require 11-hour work days and workers to stay on the job until age 70 or 75. The Financial Times reported that in a speech at a conference in Paraguay, Slim advocated a radical change…
LONDON – Scientists say they have made an “exciting” step towards curing HIV by forcing the virus out of hiding. HIV can become part of someone’s DNA and lie dormant for decades, making a cure impossible. Early stage research in six people, reported at the Aids 2014 conference, shows that low-dose chemotherapy can awaken the…
GAZA – More than 30 members of two Palestinian families have been killed by Israeli strikes, health officials in Gaza say. The overnight strikes in southern Gaza came as the Palestinian death toll from the two-week conflict passed 500. Meanwhile, Hamas launched fresh rocket attacks and used tunnels out of Gaza to infiltrate Israel near…
KIEV – Ukraine has accused pro-Russian rebels of trying to destroy evidence of “international crimes” at the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines plane. The government said the rebels led by Russia were preventing international representatives and its own experts from starting their investigation. It is believed flight MH17 crashed after being hit by a…
LONDON – Dozens of passengers who died on board the crashed Malaysia Airlines plane are thought to have been heading to a major international Aids conference. They include Prof Joep Lange – a prominent and popular researcher and a former president of the International Aids Society (IAS). IAS said they would have “truly lost a…
