Beijing, China | AFP | China will limit exports of refined petroleum products to North Korea starting October 1, its commerce ministry said, confirming Beijing’s participation in new UN sanctions intended to rein in its rogue neighbour. The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang …
Read More »Israel says Iran missile test a ‘provocation’
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Saturday denounced Iran’s testing of a medium-range missile as a “provocation” and said it was proof of Tehran’s ambition to become a world power. Iran on Saturday said it had successfully tested a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres …
Read More »‘Bring home the bacon,’ Merkel tells voters on eve of poll
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel and her rival Martin Schulz rallied voters on the eve of Sunday’s election, urging Germans to shun the first hard-right party expected to enter parliament in force since the end of World War II. Merkel, the clear frontrunner after 12 years in power …
Read More »New Zealand’s Trump-esque ‘Kingmaker’ to decide election
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | For decades New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been known as “The Kingmaker” — a role the populist anti-immigration campaigner is set to play again after the country’s general election ended in a stalemate. New Zealand’s complex proportional voting system means minor parties usually …
Read More »McCain torpedoes Republican effort to repeal Obamacare
Washington, United States | AFP | US Senator John McCain announced Friday his opposition to the latest Republican attempt to replace Barack Obama’s signature health care law, likely dooming the repeal effort. It is the second time in two months that he has defied his party and President Donald Trump over …
Read More »US bombers fly off east coast of North Korea: Pentagon
Washington, United States | AFP | US bombers flew off the east coast of North Korea Saturday in a show of force designed to project American military power in the face of Pyongyang’s weapons programs, escalating already sky-high tensions. The flight came after days of increasingly bellicose rhetoric between US President …
Read More »London acid attack injures at least five
London, United Kingdom | AFP | An acid attack in east London injured at least five people on Saturday, with police saying they had arrested one man, although they did not believe the incident was terror related. Police said they were called just before 8pm (1900 GMT) to the Stratford …
Read More »Budget airlines to drive plane demand in next 20 years: Boeing
Singapore, Singapore | AFP | Smaller planes will dominate aviation orders worldwide in the next 20 years, driven by the needs of budget airlines in emerging markets like Southeast Asia, Boeing said Friday. Nearly three in four of the 41,030 new commerical planes expected to be delivered in the period at …
Read More »Booze, Porsches and secrets: Germany’s candidates get real
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany’s 2017 election campaign, in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to cruise to a fourth term, may have been widely panned as a snoozefest. But a closer look reveals that the candidates themselves are anything but dull. Here’s a rundown of some of the most …
Read More »Trump’s travel ban to expire on Sunday
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s contentious travel ban expires Sunday with little clarity over whether America’s door will reopen for travelers from six majority-Muslim countries. Based on the policy, US embassies or representatives in Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen should resume granting visas to their …
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