WORLD

Washington, United States | AFP | Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan has authorized $1 billion to build part of the wall sought by Donald Trump along the US-Mexico border, the first funds designated for the project under the president’s emergency declaration. The Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon to …

West Palm Beach, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump slammed the two-year probe into his links with Russia as “an illegal takedown that failed” on Sunday, and said he had been completely cleared by the results. “It’s a shame our country had to go through this. To be …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Chilean Cardinal Riccardo Ezzati, who had agreed to step down along with his country’s bishops over sexual abuse cases and their cover-up, the Vatican said Saturday. Ezzati, archbishop of Santiago, is the seventh senior Chilean church official …

  Washington, United States | AFP | Now that the Islamic State group has officially lost its geographic “caliphate,” the Pentagon is marking a historic moment in its years-long campaign to defeat the jihadists. From a military perspective at least, the United States can claim significant success in its strategy of …

Paris, France | AFP | The Qatari boss of top French soccer team PSG Nasser Al-Khelaifi has been questioned in France in connection with a corruption probe over the awarding to Doha of the World Athletics championships, a judicial source said Saturday. The source said Al-Khelaifi was questioned on Wednesday by investigating magistrates who termed …

  Rome, Italy | AFP | Chinese President Xi Jinping sought Friday to allay Western unease over his new Silk Road initiative by emphasising the vast infrastructure project’s two-way nature as he kicked off a whistlestop European tour in Rome. Italy has rolled out the red carpet for Xi, who …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May returns to Britain on Friday vowing to make “every effort” to win over MPs opposed to her EU divorce deal, hours after securing a delay to Brexit from European leaders in Brussels. The embattled premier faces daunting odds to persuade recalcitrant …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | A dogged but isolated Prime Minister Theresa May headed back to Brussels on Thursday to beg for more time to deliver her Brexit plan, but EU leaders are likely to refuse her request for a three-month postponement. Instead, as the 28 heads of government meet for …

  With today’s trade tensions, it is easy to lose sight of the progress made from economic integration | Caroline Freund and Robert Koopman | Just when poverty-reduction efforts around the world were already slowing, recent forecasts indicate that the global economy is heading into a period of deepening uncertainty. …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The EU could approve Britain’s request for a short delay to Brexit but only if British MPs next week vote through the withdrawal deal they have twice rejected, European Council president Donald Tusk said Wednesday. “I believe a short extension will be possible but it …