Washington, United States | AFP | With his eyes firmly on the November election, Donald Trump will Friday become the first US president to address in person the country’s biggest annual gathering of anti-abortion campaigners. Addressing a crowd of thousands on the National Mall in Washington, Trump is assured of a …
Read More »EU chiefs sign Brexit deal ahead of parliamentary vote
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Brussels’ two top officials, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, signed off on Britain’s EU divorce agreement Friday. With Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel’s formal endorsement, the text will now go to the European Parliament on Wednesday, January 29 for …
Read More »WUHAN VIRUS: China shuts down transport in nine cities
Beijing, China | AFP | China Friday added a ninth city to a transport ban around the epicentre of a deadly virus, restricting the movement of some 32 million people as authorities scramble to control the disease. Jingzhou, with a population of 6.4 million, said Friday that all services departing …
Read More »UN court orders Myanmar to prevent Rohingya genocide
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | The UN’s top court ordered Myanmar on Thursday to take “all measures within its power” to prevent alleged genocide against Rohingya Muslims. The International Court of Justice granted a series of emergency steps requested by the mainly Muslim African state of The Gambia under …
Read More »Second Chinese city placed on lockdown over virus
Beijing, China | AFP | A second central Chinese city is being put on lockdown to help control the spread of a virus epidemic that broke out in neighbouring Wuhan, authorities said Thursday. The train station in Huanggang, which has a population of 7.5 million and is 70 kilometres …
Read More »Top UN court to rule on Myanmar genocide case
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | The UN’s top court will announce Thursday if it will allow a case accusing Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya Muslims to go ahead and if it will impose emergency measures to stop further violence. The ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) comes days …
Read More »Russian lawmakers to debate Putin’s constitution reform
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s State Duma on Thursday was set to discuss the constitutional amendment bill submitted by President Vladimir Putin, a reform plan unlikely to meet any serious criticism in parliament. The bill is on the agenda to be debated in the first of three readings just a …
Read More »Putin’s ‘national projects’: billions to boost the economy
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin is promising to invest tens of trillions of rubles in the country’s dilapidated infrastructure and other sectors over the next five years in a bid to kickstart anaemic economic growth. Russia’s new Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who was appointed by Putin last …
Read More »Trump relaunches trade battle with Europe
Davos, Switzerland | AFP | US President Donald Trump relaunched a major trade offensive against Europe on Wednesday, threatening to hit the EU with damaging auto tariffs if Europeans failed to agree a long-delayed trade deal. With observers warning that global harmony on trade was crucial to the health of the …
Read More »What we know so far about the new China virus
Beijing, China | AFP | A new SARS-like virus has killed nine people in China, infected hundreds and reached as far as the United States, with fears mounting about its spread as hundreds of millions travel for Lunar New Year celebrations, which start Friday. Many countries have stepped up screening of …
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