USA

JAKARTA: A French retiree could face the death penalty in Indonesia on charges that he molested over 300 children and beat those who refused to have sex with him, authorities said on Thursday (Jul 9). Police said they nabbed Francois Camille Abello, 65, last month at a hotel in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, where they found two underaged girls in his room. Abello could face life in prison or even execution by firing squad if he is convicted on a raft of charges under Indonesia's child protection laws, including accusations that he filmed the illicit encounters. Police said they had found videos on Abello's laptop computer that showed him engaging in illegal sex acts with hundreds of children aged between 10 and 17. The pensioner had entered the Southeast Asian nation on a tourist vi...

Stanley Black & Decker's "Manufactory" in Hartford, Connecticut, is the epicenter for its "smart factory" and workforce upskilling initiatives. Stanley Black & Decker Imagine a manufacturing plant in which all the production equipment is continually changing in response to market needs. Robots churning out widgets, for instance, would reconfigure themselves based on data coming in from all points of the widget supply chain, as well as sensors monitoring the factory itself. The result is a smart factory that's more agile and autonomous than previous generations of automation. Also known as Industry 4.0, the smart factory runs on data and artificial intelligence, but connectivity forms the backbone of operations. The new fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) is a catalyst for this new in...

BELGRE: Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic, who last week tested positive for coronavirus, donated more than 40,000 euros (US$45,000) to a Serbian town badly affected by the pandemic, local media reported on Wednesday (Jul 1). The 33-year-old Djokovic donated the money to Novi Pazar, in Serbia's southwest, to help it fight a growing outbreak of the disease, the SportKlub TV sports channel reported. The town declared a state of emergency in late June due to the spread of the respiratory disease. After restricting the first outbreak of COVID-19 in early May, Serbia is now reporting a fresh surge, logging more than 200 cases daily recently compared to around 50 a month ago. The Balkan nation was recently in the spotlight for allowing Djokovic to host a regional tournament that sta...

MAKASSAR, Indonesia: Rescuers pulled bodies from under mud and debris Friday (Jul 17) as they raced to find dozens still missing after flash floods killed at least 36 people on Indonesia's Sulawesi island. More than 14,000 people left homeless by the disaster have taken refuge at temporary shelters in hard-hit North Luwu regency, with the country's search and rescue agency hunting for 66 people still unaccounted for. Several rivers burst their banks after torrential rains pounded the region on Monday, sparking the deadly flash floods. On Friday, officials said at least 36 people had died in the disaster, following the retrieval of more bodies. They also raised previous missing victim figures from a dozen to more than 60, citing new reports from concerned relatives. "The chances of...

BANGKOK: Thousands of mainly young and black-clad Thai protesters converged on Saturday (Jul 18) at Bangkok's Democracy Monument as the city's largest and rowdiest protest in years stretched deep into the night. Thailand, a kingdom whose rambunctious politics is defined by coups and often deadly street protests, is facing an unprecedented economic shock due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the economy in freefall, anger is boiling against a government stacked with elderly former generals and supporters of the royalist establishment. The crowd of students sang vitriolic rap songs and waved placards denouncing the administration of former army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha - and calling for the abolition of the Thailand's strict royal defamation law. "The government doesn't care about us,...

Google says it will no longer allow ads for products or services marketed for tracking or monitoring another person without their authorization. In an ad policy update, Google said this will apply to spyware and technology used for intimate partner surveillance, including tech used to monitor texts, phone calls or browsing history. It also applies to GPS trackers marketed to spy on someone without their consent, along with surveillance equipment such as cameras, audio recorders, dash cams and nanny cams marketed for the purpose of spying. Google said private investigation services and products and services for parents to track or monitor their underage children will not apply. The "Enabling Dishonest Behavior" policy update will be enforced beginning Aug. 11. In 2018, a group of researc...

MRID/DHAKA: Fashion brands and retailers re-opening around the world to patchy demand, and carrying unsold stock from spring have cut fall orders by as much as two-thirds in moves spelling more pain for Asian suppliers. With shoppers still wary of catching the coronavirus at stores, retailers are leaving buying decisions to the last minute and planning on selling all-season basics such as men's chinos and t-shirts leftover from spring through into fall. "We don't think orders for clothing will pick up anytime soon. Shipments could look up ahead of the Christmas but there is no guarantee," said Siddiqur Rahman, a Bangladeshi garment supplier to H&M and GAP Inc among others. The destructive weight of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to contract the US$2.5 trillion global fashion indu...

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday (Jul 13) that the United States would treat Beijing's pursuit of resources in the dispute-rife South China Sea as illegal, ramping up support for Southeast Asian nations. It was the latest forceful statement by President Donald Trump's administration to challenge China, which he has increasingly cast as an enemy ahead of November elections. "We are making clear: Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them," Pompeo said in a statement. "The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire." The United States has long rejected Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, which is both home ...