McDonald’s is being called on to stop its roll out of paper straws in the UK and Ireland, amid claims that they “dissolve” in drinks. The fast food giant is switching from plastic to paper straws at their 1,361 restaurants after customer pressure. An online petition calling for a return to plastic straws has so […]

Southeast Asia’s addiction to plastic needs to end and it can’t end without engaging with brands The standard narrative of the Southeast Asia plastic crisis has a puzzling blind spot. The typical story goes that consumers and governments shoulder all the blame—consumers for using and then tossing out too much plastic, and governments for not […]

In downtown Cairo, it’s not uncommon to see streets clogged with cars. But in a proposed redesign for a central thoroughfare, they’re hard to spot. Instead, in the concept illustration for what looks like the Egyptian version of Amsterdam, a two-way bike lane, a sidewalk, and a plaza filled with palm trees replace the sea […]

Turkey’s president has strongly rejected US calls for his country to protect Kurdish fighters in Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said such statements made by US National Security Adviser John Bolton at the weekend were “unacceptable”. Mr Bolton was in Ankara to seek guarantees that a Kurdish militia battling the Islamic State group would be […]

World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in the post. His resignation will take effect from 1 February. Mr Kim, 59, was not due to leave until 2022, after he was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2017. He will “join a […]

Actor Kevin Spacey has appeared in court to face a charge of indecent assault and battery stemming from an allegation of groping in 2016. A not-guilty plea was entered on the two-time Oscar winner’s behalf by his lawyers during the hearing in the US state of Massachusetts. He is accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old […]

The federal grand jury being used by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his probe into Russian collusion in the US 2016 election has had its term extended by up to six months. The initial 18-month term was due to expire this weekend. The jury’s members have heard dozens of witnesses and have approved a swathe […]

The US economy created many more jobs than expected in December, according to the latest government data. Employers added 312,000 jobs, far ahead of predictions of 177,000, the Labor Department said. The unemployment rate nudged higher to 3.9%, but is still near historic lows. Average hourly pay increased at an annual rate of 3.2% – […]

President Trump fired back Friday at Democrats calling for his impeachment within moments of the 116th Congress convening, claiming he’s had “the most successful first two years” of any president. Trump spoke out on the impeachment calls after a video surfaced of freshman Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib making a profanity-laced vow to remove him from […]

Donald Trump has shrugged off a stinging personal attack on his presidency from senior fellow Republican Mitt Romney. Mr Romney, who stood and lost for the Republicans against Barack Obama in 2012, suggested in an article that Mr Trump was not fit to be president. Mr Trump had not “risen to the mantle”, he wrote […]