Melbourne, Australia | AFP | Roger Federer defied age and his Grand Slam nemesis Rafael Nadal to win a record 18th Grand Slam title in a thrilling, five-set final at the Australian Open on Sunday. Federer, 35, won a classic encounter 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to become the oldest …
Read More »US travel ban working ‘very nicely,’ Trump says
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump boasted Saturday that his “very strict” crackdown on Muslim immigration was working “very nicely,” amid mounting resistance to the order branded as blatantly discriminatory. In an executive order signed Friday, Trump halted the arrival of refugees for at least 120 …
Read More »US-Mexico tensions rise as meeting scrapped, wall tax looms
Washington, United States | AFP | US-Mexican relations were rocked Thursday as Donald Trump’s administration suggested taxing imports from the southern neighbor to fund a border wall and Mexico’s president scrapped a meeting with the US leader. Trump had been scheduled to receive Pena Nieto at the White House on …
Read More »Trump’s not joking, orders work to start on Mexico border wall
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered work to begin on planning and building a wall on the Mexican border, sounding a hardline tone on immigration as he moved to fulfill a key campaign pledge. The US leader instructed officials to begin to “plan, design, …
Read More »Bolt loses gold as IOC strip Jamaica of 2008 relay win
Lausanne, Switzerland | AFP | Usain Bolt lost one of his nine Olympic gold medals Wednesday when the International Olympic Committee stripped Jamaica of their 4x100m relay win at the 2008 Beijing Games after a teammate was caught doping. The decision which follows the re-testing of hundreds of samples from …
Read More »Dow passes 20,000 points for the first time
New York, United States | AFP | The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the most famous equity index benchmark on Wall Street shot above 20,000 for the first time at the open Wednesday. The blue-chip stocks index quickly blew through the much-anticipated milestone in the opening seconds of trading, culminating a …
Read More »Opus Dei names new chief
Rome, Italy | AFP | Controversial Roman Catholic organisation Opus Dei said Tuesday it had named Fernando Ocariz as its new chief following the death of its 84-year-old leader. Pope Francis officially named Ocariz, 72, as the organisation’s fourth leader, an Opus Dei statement said. He replaces bishop Javier Echevarria, …
Read More »COMMENT: Water as a force for peace
COMMENT: By Sundeep Waslekar Countries that share riparian systems need regional security arrangements to preserve it The changing of the guard on the 38th floor of the United Nations building in New York, with António Guterres taking over for Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary-General, has taken place at a …
Read More »Trump bans federal funding for foreign NGOs that support abortion
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a decree barring US federal funding for foreign NGOs that support abortion, relaunching a battle that has long divided Americans. It comes just two days after women led a massive protest march in Washington to defend their …
Read More »Trump trade moves chilling, could hurt US business: trade experts
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s first moves on trade have cast a pall over US trade relations and could hurt US businesses, trade experts say. Trump has begun his term by pulling out of one major agreement, vowing to renegotiate or exit another, and threatening to …
Read More »