Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s eldest, Yair, tweeted on Sunday that Facebook blocked his page for 24 hours over apparent anti-Muslim posts and called the leading social network a “dictatorship”. In a message posted Thursday on his Facebook page after deadly Palestinian attacks, Yair Netanyahu had …
Read More »Sri Lanka reinstates ousted PM, begins uneasy truce
Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday reappointed as prime minister the same man he sacked from the job nearly two months ago, ending a power struggle and immediately setting off an uneasy cohabitation government. Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose shock dismissal in late October threw Sri Lanka …
Read More »Thousands protest in Turkey against cost of living
Diyarbakir, Turkey | AFP | Thousands of people turned out to protest the rising cost of living in Turkey at a demonstration in Diyarbakir in the southeast of the country, an AFP journalist reported. There was a significant police presence in the Kurd-majority region for the march, which was organised …
Read More »Lawyer says Mueller can interview Trump only ‘over my dead body’
Washington, United States | AFP | A lawyer for Donald Trump Sunday pushed back Sunday against reports that the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election might be seeking to interview the president, saying it would happen only “over my dead body.” Rudy Giuliani said special counsel Robert …
Read More »Macron’s ratings fall further after month of protests
Paris, France | AFP | A month of “yellow vest” protests have taken a further toll on the popularity of French President Emmanuel Macron, a new poll showed Sunday, with analysts saying he will be forced to change his style of governing. Around 66,000 protesters turned out again on Saturday …
Read More »At COP24, countries agree to bring the Paris climate deal to life
Katowice, Poland | UN | After two weeks of crunch negotiations – with overtime – the almost 200 parties gathered in Katowice, Poland, for the United Nations COP24 two-week climate change conference, adopted on Saturday a “robust” set of implementing guidelines for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, aimed at keeping …
Read More »Qatar unveils 2022 World Cup final stadium design
Lusail, Qatar | AFP | Qatar on Saturday revealed the design for the stadium that will in four years’ time host the first ever World Cup finals game to be played in the Middle East. The 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium — also the venue for the 2022 World Cup final — …
Read More »Six children among 10 dead in Russia house fires
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Six children and four adults died in house fires in several Russian cities on Sunday, Russian media reported. Three toddlers died in a house fire in a village in Bashkortostan, a region south of the Ural mountains, news agency RIA Novosti reported. The children, a …
Read More »Colombian crime movie wins top award at Havana’s 40th film festival
Havana, Cuba | AFP | The Colombian crime film “Pajaros de Verano” has won the prized Coral Award at the 40th edition of the popular Havana Film Festival. The festival, which in its heyday in the 1980s drew a half-million moviegoers but of late has struggled with reduced budgets, continues …
Read More »Eleven die after eating ‘toxic’ rice at Indian temple
New Delhi, India | AFP | Eleven people have died after eating rice that had likely been contaminated with a toxic substance at a Hindu temple ceremony, a health official said Saturday. Another 29 people were critically ill and undergoing emergency treatment across various hospitals in Mysore, a city in …
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