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People walk in front of the Kremlin's Spasskaya tower (L) and St. Basil's cathedral in downtown Moscow, on 23 July 2024. Photo: AFP / ALEXANDER NEMENOV Russia recorded its lowest birth rate since 1999 in the first six months of this year, according to official data published on Monday, with births in June below 100,000, marking their first monthly decline. Why it's important The conjuncture of declining births and rising mortality has led to a decrease in Russia's population, posing an issue for the Kremlin as it wages a protracted war in Ukraine, which Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion in 2022. The Kremlin in July called Russia's low birth rates a disaster for the country. By the numbers According to data published by the statistics service Rosstat, 599,600 children were born ...

A patient wanders through the hall containing the men's cells at the St Giles Psychiatric Hospital. 24 February 2004 Photo: AFP / Torsten Blackwood Fiji's only psychiatric hospital is battling with resource constraints as demand for mental health services, linked to drug use, is surging in the country. Local media are reporting substance abuse-related mental health cases, particularly due to the use of hard drugs such as methamphetamine, is creating problems for the St Giles Psychiatric Hospital. The problems range from a shortage of nurses and doctors to beds for patients, at the only facility of its type in the country. The medical superintendent at the hospital in the capital Suva, Dr Balram Pandit, told the state broadcaster FBC on Monday that 100-beds was "insufficient" and they ne...

Interpol has issued an international red notice for Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya (pictured in 2012). Photo: Somchai Poomlard /Bangkok Post via AFP By Lauren Day, ABC South-East Asia correspondent There's a saying in Thailand: "Only the poor go to jail." And no case proves it like that of Red Bull heir Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya. In the early hours of 3 September, 2012, the then-27-year-old allegedly smashed his Ferrari into the back of a police officer's motorbike on a busy Bangkok road. The officer was flung from the bike, dragged almost 200 metres under the car and died at the scene. But by the time police arrived, Yoovidhya had already sped away. A trail of oil leaking from the sports car led investigators to his luxury home and medical tests reportedly taken in the hours after th...

By Eric Beech and Lisa Richwine, Reuters Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was rushed to a hospital from a New York City prison on Sunday and underwent heart surgery on Monday, his representatives said. Weinstein, 72, is due in court this week where prosecutors have presented evidence to a New York grand jury to try and secure a new indictment against him on sex crimes charges. Spokespeople for the Oscar winner said in a statement he had been taken to Bellevue Hospital on Sunday night because of several medical issues. "We can confirm that Mr Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today," Craig Rothfeld and Juda Engelmayer said. They did not provide any information on his condition. ABC News first reported that Weinstein had undergon...

By Bill Trott and Lisa Richwine, Reuters American actor James Earl Jones overcame a stutter to have a voice recognised the world over as intergalactic villain Darth Vader. Photo: Getty Images / Jemal Countess American actor James Earl Jones, an imposing stage and screen presence who overcame a childhood stutter to develop a stentorian voice recognised the world over as intergalactic villain Darth Vader, died Tuesday at the age of 93, his agent said. Jones, a longtime sufferer of diabetes, died at his home surrounded by family members, agent Barry McPherson said. No cause of death was provided. Jones had a great physical presence on stage and television, as well as in movies, but he would have been a star even if his face was never seen because his voice had a career of its own. The r...