Secular News

The post-Brexit subsidy scheme for farmers begins, almost a decade after the vote to leave the EU.

The post-Brexit subsidy scheme for farmers begins, almost a decade after the vote to leave the EU.

The post-Brexit subsidy scheme for farmers begins, almost a decade after the vote to leave the EU.

The computer, at its core, is an input-output device: it receives instructions, executes programmes, performs calculations automatically and produces results. By this fundamental definition, China’s ancient ti hua ji, or figured loom – dating back more than two millennia to the Western Han dynasty – may well be recognised as the world’s earliest computer, according to the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). Unearthed in 2012 from a tomb dated around 150BC in Chengdu, this...

A travelling cat in China has been humorously likened to a bus conductor after videos of him riding with ease with a truck driver went viral. The driver from northern China’s Hebei province, nicknamed Xiangzi, describes his eight-month-old tuxedo cat Jiaozi, which means “dumpling”, as his “best travel buddy”. In December, video clips of Jiaozi comfortably sitting alongside the truck’s front window with its paws on a handrail went viral on mainland social media. The two most popular videos on...

Teenagers Eleonore and Elisa started the year with a frantic search for friends who have been missing since a deadly fire tore through a bar in a neighbouring Swiss town.

A New Year’s party at a Swiss Alpine bar turned into a tragedy after about 40 people died in a fire and another roughly 115 were injured, mostly seriously

King Tides expected in the next two days may cause additional coastal flooding, especially with chances of showers extending through the weekend, the city of San Diego warned Thursday.

Harry Potter stuntman David Holmes describes living in a wheelchair and his hopes for the future.

Harry Potter stuntman David Holmes describes living in a wheelchair and his hopes for the future.

Harry Potter stuntman David Holmes describes living in a wheelchair and his hopes for the future.

For years, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia projected geopolitical and economic power across the Gulf and beyond, seemingly in tandem. But a growing rivalry and struggle for influence has come to a head - most recently in Yemen - following years of divergence over a tangle of competing interests that reach from regional waterways to the corridors of power in Washington, analysts say. The once-close relationship between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Sheikh...