WORLD

Pasadena, United States | AFP | NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will head off for the Red Planet next year. But like Voyager, Galileo and Cassini before it, the mission’s epic journey began in a “clean room” in California. One of two ultra-sterile labs used for spacecraft assembly at the Jet Propulsion …

Paris, France | AFP | France, it sometimes seems, is either in the throes of a major strike or facing the looming shadow of one. Workers in the country go on strike more than most nations in Europe. The current open-ended stoppages, which began on December 5, have halted most public …

Washington, United States | AFP |  A Navy SEAL platoon leader controversially pardoned of war crimes by US President Donald Trump was described as “toxic” and “freaking evil” by veterans who served with him in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday. Video testimony provided to war crimes investigators and published by the newspaper …

  Paris, France | AFP | At least 15 natural disasters linked to climate change this year caused damage of over $1 billion and seven of them cost at least $10 billion, British charity Christian Aid said Friday. This year is set to be the second hottest year in history and …

Podgorica, Montenegro | AFP |  More than a dozen Montenegrin opposition MPs were detained in parliament on Friday after they violently protested a controversial law on religious freedom, which was passed after the group was taken away. The law has raised tensions in recent weeks between the government and a pro-Serb …

  Paris, France | AFP | “Made in China” may still evoke more off the rack than catwalk, but Chinese designers are slowly installing themselves in Paris, the fashion capital, as a part of an upscale march towards the lucrative luxury market, a segment that is increasingly made up of Chinese …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a “huge” victory Friday, after winning a leadership primary that ensures he will lead his right-wing Likud party into a March general election. Israel’s longest-serving premier, who faces a corruption indictment and a third general election in 12 …

Shanghai, China | AFP |  A company run by Bruce Lee’s daughter is suing a Chinese fast food chain for allegedly using an image of the late martial arts film star without permission. Shannon Lee’s Bruce Lee Enterprises accuses restaurant chain Kungfu Catering Management of having used her father’s image …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | A top Brussels official has written a “love letter” to Britain expressing his grief at its decision to leave the European Union — and stressing it was always welcome back. “I know you now. And I love you. For who you are and what you …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  Italian Education Minister Lorenzo Fioramonti of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement said Thursday he had resigned because his ministry is underfunded. Fioramonti wrote on Facebook that he informed Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of his decision on Tuesday, saying he had taken up the portfolio to …