Variety

One simple question has kept China-watchers scratching their heads for years: Will the country get old before it gets rich? The metaphorical needle between both those two words has just shifted hard toward “old.” China’s National Bureau of Statistics released data on Tuesday from its once-a-decade national census, which was …

Saudi Arabia has announced on Sunday the Hajj will be held this year following health and safety requirements due to the pandemic. The Hajj and Umrah Ministry said in a statement that Hajj will go ahead this year with all the health, security, and regulatory standards and regulations in place …

A drawing of a bear’s head by Leonardo da Vinci is seen fetching up to $16.7 million, potentially setting a record, when it heads to auction in July, Christie’s said on Saturday. Measuring 7 cm (just under 3 inches) squared, “Head of a Bear” is a silverpoint drawing on pink-beige …

Two lions at the Etawah Safari Park in the northern Indian state Uttar Pradesh have tested positive for Covid-19, according to officials at the park. The samples were sent for testing after both the lions were found to have high temperatures. Authorities added that the pair were in stable condition. …

The fossil remains of nine Neanderthal men have been found in a cave in Italy, the culture ministry announced Saturday, a major discovery in the study of our ancient cousins. All the individuals found in the Guattari Cave in San Felice Circeo, located on the coast between Rome and Naples, …

A temperature of 54.4 degrees Celsius in the shade at Death Valley in the US state of California on Sunday might be the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth, officials say. A temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) recorded in California’s Death Valley on Sunday by the US …

The Trump administration will allow oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the first time after decades of controversy and tension over concern drilling for an undetermined amount of oil would massively disrupt the pristine wilderness and tribes in the area. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said …

A ship that has leaked more than 1,000 tonnes of oil in pristine waters off the Mauritius coast has split into two, its Japanese operator said Sunday. The bulk carrier MK Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the southeastern coast of Mauritius on July 25 and began oozing …

For a moment, the Brazilian firefighters were taken aback by the sudden rage of the climbing flames: the speed at which they grew and moved, carried by the evening wind. Under the supervision of firefighters from Brazil’s environment agency Ibama, a farmer in this remote part of the Amazon had …

Apple Inc on Thursday removed popular video game “Fortnite” from its App Store for violating the company’s in-app payment guidelines, prompting developer Epic Games to initiate legal action against the iPhone maker. The move came after Epic Games enabled a direct payment feature on the Fortnite app, which Apple said …

Birds and reptiles may not resemble humans in many ways, but they cry similar tears. The composition of human tears is well known, but until now, there was very little research into the composition and structures of tears in reptiles, birds, and other mammals. That lack of research could be …

Three Spanish tourists have died and a fourth is missing after canyoning in a river gorge in northern Switzerland. The four men, who have not been identified, went missing in the Parlitobel Gorge in the canton of St. Gallen just before 1700 GMT on Wednesday. The accident was reminiscent of …

They have been called an “extraordinary masterpiece” of early Islamic architecture, but after years of disrepair, the ravages of war and now months of heavy rains the ancient mud-brick houses of Yemen’s the UNESCO-listed Old City of Sanaa are collapsing. On Friday, August 7, one house partially collapsed as Sanaa …

The United Nations chief says the coronavirus pandemic has led to the largest disruption of education in history, with schools closed in more than 160 countries in mid-July affecting more than 1 billion students. In addition, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that at least 40 million children worldwide have missed …

Sony has revealed more details on how PlayStation 4 peripherals and accessories will work with PlayStation 5, including that the DualShock 4 will not work with PS5 games. Revealed on PlayStation.Blog, the DualShock 4 will still work with “supported PS4 games” on PS5, but Sony believes PS5 games should “take …

The World Health Organization has warned that, despite high hopes from ongoing vaccine-development efforts, there might never be a “silver bullet” to put an end to the Covid-19 virus. According to The WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stopping more coronavirus outbreaks for now comes down to “the basics of …

Entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has a habit of making outlandish comments both in person and on social media, has been invited to pay a visit to Egypt after he tweeted that the pyramids were built by aliens. Was the 49-year-old boss off SpaceX and Tesla being serious when he tweeted …

A fight broke out onboard a KLM flight to Ibiza after two passengers refused to wear face masks. Video footage appeared to show British holidaymakers were involved in the brawl after the Boeing 737 took off from Amsterdam on Friday. KLM said both men were restrained with the help of …

Isaias downgraded from a hurricane but still, a powerful tropical storm, moved along Florida’s eastern coast on Sunday, bringing strong winds but no longer posing a storm surge threat. The storm is forecast to move upward along the East Coast and reach Washington, Philadelphia, and New York City on Tuesday …

Connie Culp, the recipient of the first partial face transplant in the U.S., has died at 57, almost a dozen years after the groundbreaking operation. The Cleveland Clinic, where her surgery had been performed in 2008, said Saturday that Culp died Wednesday at the Ohio clinic of complications from an …