Britain’s Prince William is taking flak for going on a ski holiday instead of attending a major royal engagement with his family. Criticism mounted after footage emerged of 34-year-old William busting late-night dance moves in the Verbier, Switzerland, this week.   It has fueled claims from the tabloid press that the second in line to the throne does not work hard enough. The tabloid Sun used the headline “Throne Idle.”   William was skiing while his 90-year-old grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and other senior royals attended a Commonwealth Day service …

Britain’s Newcastle University says its scientists have received a license to create babies using DNA from three people, the first time such approval has been granted.   The license was granted by the country’s fertility regulator on Thursday, according to the university.   In December, British officials approved the “cautious use” of the techniques, which are intended to prevent women from passing on fatal genetic diseases to their children. The new procedures fix problems linked to mitochondria, the energy-producing structures outside a cell’s nucleus. Faulty mitochondria can result in conditions …

With uncertainty over economic policy direction in the United States, Southeast Asian economies appear less reliant on U.S. monetary decisions, with analysts saying China’s influence is likely to keep growing in the region. On Thursday, a sign of the region’s greater financial independence came as most regional markets failed to follow a .25 basis point rise in interests rates set by the U.S. Federal Reserve. But China, Hong Kong and Singapore did raise interest rates. London based analysts at Capital Economics said for most emerging economies in Asia, local factors …

Expanding ties between China and the United States form the backdrop of Lisa See’s latest novel, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, a book about China’s growing prosperity, cross-cultural adoption and, the author says, the enduring bond between mothers and daughters. See chronicled the Chinese experience in California in a 1995 book, On Gold Mountain, and she says the West Coast state remains a cultural crossroads. It is also the source of ideas for fictional stories like that in her new novel. “My husband and I were walking to the …

Under the Trump administration, there will likely be challenges for the U.S. tech industry when it comes to attracting foreign talent.  But it’s never been a better time to start a company, said Dave McClure, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist. “The general trend for start-ups under Trump or anyone else is still fantastic,” according to McClure, who was interviewed on stage this week at South by Southwest, the tech, music, gaming and film conference and festival in Austin, Texas.  McClure is a founding partner of 500 Startups, a global venture capital …