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A pager displayed at a facility operated by NTT DOCOMO, Japan's telecommunications company, in 2022. Photo: HIDENORI NAGAI the Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP As mobile phones became the world's main communications tool, pagers, also known as beepers because of the sound they make to notify users about incoming messages, were largely rendered obsolete, with demand plunging from their 1990s heyday. But the tiny electronic devices remain a vital means of communication in some areas - such as healthcare and emergency services - thanks to their durability and long battery life. "It's the cheapest and most efficient way to communicate to a large number of people about messages that don't need responses," said a senior surgeon at a major UK hospital, adding that pagers are commonly used by doctors an...

By Jack Queen for Reuters Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty to committing a criminal sexual act on Wednesday, nearly five months after the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul's sex crimes conviction in New York was overturned. Weinstein, 72, who is recovering from emergency heart surgery he underwent last week, entered his plea to the first-degree felony charge at a hearing before Justice Curtis Farber in a New York state court in Manhattan. "Not guilty," Weinstein said emphatically when asked for his plea. Weinstein appeared in court in a wheelchair, wearing a dark suit and a blue tie, and with a large bandage on his right hand. Jurors had found Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault in February 2020, less than 2-1/2 years after sexual misconduct acc...

By Marc Leras, Reuters Attempts from some defence lawyers to question Gisele Pelicot's credibility caused outrage in the courtroom. Photo: CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP Warning: This story discusses sexual assault Gisele Pelicot, who was drugged and raped by dozens of men recruited by her husband, called the men standing trial "degenerates" while attempts from some defence lawyers to question her credibility caused outrage in the courtroom. The trial in the southern French town of Avignon of Dominique Pelicot and 50 other men accused of raping his wife has shocked the world. The case has also triggered protests across France in support of Gisele Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the fight against sexual violence. "These men are degenerates. They committed rape," Gisele Pelicot, 72, told the...

By Savyata Mishra and Dietrich Knauth for Reuters Orlando-based food storage company Tupperware filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as sales declined. Photo: AFP / Justin Sullivan Tupperware Brands filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware late on Tuesday, succumbing to mounting losses due to poor demand for its once popular colorful food storage containers. Its popularity exploded in the 1950s as women of the post-war generation held "Tupperware parties" at their homes to sell the containers as they sought empowerment and independence. However, its sales slumped in recent years as the company struggled to place more of its products in retail stores and online sales platforms. Tupperware has historically relied on independent sales representatives to move its products, but that strateg...

A man holds a walkie talkie device after he removed the battery during the funeral of persons killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded. Photo: ANWAR AMRO/AFP Hand-held radios used by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon's south and in Beirut suburbs, further stoking tensions with Israel a day after similar explosions launched via the group's pagers. Lebanon's health ministry said nine people had been killed and more than 300 injured, while the death toll from Tuesday's explosions rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured. At least one of Wednesday's blasts took place near a funeral organised by Iran-backed Hezbollah for those killed the previous day when thousands of pagers used by the group exploded across the country and wounded many of it...