WORLD

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  Nearly 80 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to violence and persecution, marking a near-doubling of global displacement in a decade, the UN said Thursday. By the end of 2019, one out of every 97 people in the world was living uprooted …

Paris, France | AFP |  Tech giants love to portray themselves as forces for good and as the United States was gripped by anti-racism protests a number of them publicly disavowed selling controversial facial recognition technology to police forces. Facial recognition has numerous applications that could simplify our lives as we’ve …

Paris, France | AFP |  French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Britain on Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a hugely symbolic visit and his first foreign trip since the coronavirus pandemic began. Macron’s visit will mark 80 years since exiled wartime resistance leader Charles de Gaulle made his …

New York, United States | AFP |  Faced with then near-complete shutdown of travel, and a devastating hit to its business from the coronavirus, Arrangements Abroad mobilized to secure a $597,000 loan under the Paycheck Protection Program. The funds allowed the New York company to pay salaries for a couple of …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Donald Trump pleaded with China’s leader Xi Jinping for help to win re-election in 2020, the US president’s former national security advisor John Bolton writes in an explosive new behind-the-scenes book, according to excerpts published Wednesday. Bolton alleges in a blistering critique that Trump’s focus …

Man City make winning return to extend Liverpool’s wait Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP |  Manchester City extended Liverpool’s wait to win a first league title in 30 years as Pep Guardiola’s men beat 10-man Arsenal 3-0 at an empty Etihad to secure the first win of the Premier League’s …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Visitors meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin at his country residence must first pass through a walk-through device that sprays them with disinfectant to protect him from the coronavirus, officials said. The measures have provoked anger from some observers, given the authorities have ruled it is safe enough to hold nationwide …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia has finished clearing fuel from the surface of a river hit by a massive diesel spill in the Arctic region, but the full clean-up could take years, officials said Wednesday. After more than 700 people were deployed to clear the pollution, officials said the operation …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Stock markets extended gains Wednesday, although wins were far more modest than the strong rally seen in the previous session, as traders weighed coronavirus treatment and economic recovery hopes against fears of a second wave of COVID-19. In afternoon trading, London and Frankfurt were both up around half a percentage point, …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN’s human rights chief urged countries Wednesday to confront the legacy of slavery and colonialism and to make amends for “centuries of violence and discrimination” through reparations. Addressing an urgent debate on racism and police brutality at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Michelle Bachelet called on countries …