WORLD

Washington, United States | AFP | Google became the latest US tech giant to announce a major expansion plan, unveiling a $1 billion investment Monday to create a new campus that could double its New York City workforce to 14,000. The move by Google comes following Amazon’s announcement of new …

Global Compact on Refugees: How is this different from the migrants’ pact and how will it help people forced to flee? Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The terms ‘refugee’ and ‘migrant’ have been used interchangeably to describe the millions of people worldwide that are either fleeing conflict or seeking better …

Bangkok, Thailand | AFP | Miss Philippines was crowned Miss Universe on Monday in Bangkok after a trailblazing ceremony praised for featuring its first transgender candidate but marred by gaffes about the English-speaking ability of two Asian contestants. Catriona Gray, 24, finished first ahead of the South African and Venezuelan …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 — …