World

An EU Flag flown by an anti-Brexit protester is seen with Union Flags set on a flag pole in Parliament sq1uare in front of the Houses of Parliament in London on January 30, 2020. – Britain will leave the European Union formally at 2300GMT on January 31, 2020. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) European doubts over a post-Brexit trade deal with Britain boiled over on Friday with France threatening a veto as tricky negotiations entered what could be their final hours. EU and UK negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost were locked in last-minute debates over fishing rights, fair…

China and US Flag PHOTO: Getty Images Beijing on Friday lashed out at a claim by the US intelligence chief that China is the “greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide”, calling it a “hodgepodge of lies”. The war of words comes as relations between the two superpowers have spiralled to their lowest point in decades and as Washington unveiled travel restrictions for members of the Chinese Communist Party. US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece on Thursday that Chinese spies were using economic pressure to influence or undermine US legislators. “The…

The US space agency NASA awarded contracts to four companies on Thursday to collect lunar samples for $1 to $15,000, rock-bottom prices that are intended to set a precedent for future exploitation of space resources by the private sector. “I think it’s kind of amazing that we can buy lunar regolith from four companies for a total of $25,001,” said Phil McAlister, director of NASA’s Commercial Spaceflight Division. The contracts are with Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado for $1; ispace Japan of Tokyo for $5,000; ispace Europe of Luxembourg for $5,000; and Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California for $15,000.…

The United States will block imports of cotton it says are harvested with “slave labor” in China’s Xinjiang region, authorities have announced. Beijing has come under intense international criticism over its policies in the resource-rich territory, where rights groups say as many as one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps. The new rule allows Customs and Border Protection officials to detain shipments containing cotton originating from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a major paramilitary group already sanctioned by the US Treasury. “The human rights abuses taking place at the hands of the…

drought / AFP PHOTO / EVARISTO SA / In the drought-ravaged south of Madagascar, people are filling their bellies with white clay mixed with tamarind to cope with famine. “We call it survival soil because it allows the acidic taste of tamarind to seep into our mouths, which staves off hunger,” said Doday Fandilava Noelisona, a 35-year-old farmer in the village of Fenoaivo. “These days we no longer look for food to live on, but for ways to fill the empty stomachs,” said the father of six. The staple food in the arid region is usually cactus fruit. Rows of…

(FILES) In this file photo taken on January 27, 2020, Former Central African Republic President Francois Bozize arrives prior his first press conference since his return at the Kwa Na Kwa headquarters in Bangui, Central African Republic. – The candidacy for the presidential election in the Central African Republic of the former head of state François Bozizé was invalidated on November 3, 2020, by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that he was being prosecuted for “assassinations”, “torture” and UN sanctions. The first round of presidential and legislative elections is scheduled for December 27, 2020 and the outgoing president, Faustin…

(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 20, 2019 Former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing applauds at the conference of the 50th anniversary of the election of Georges Pompidou to the Presidency of the Republic “With Georges Pompidou, think France: inheritances and perspectives” in Paris. – Former French President Valery Giscard D’Estaing died at the age of 94, announced his entourage on December 2, 2020. (Photo by JACQUES DEMARTHON / AFP) Former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a leading advocate of European integration who led his country into a new modern era, has died of Covid-19, his family said.…

A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament’s Parliamentary Recording Unit (PRU) shows Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson attending Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) during a hybrid, socially distanced session at the House of Commons in London on December 2, 2020. – Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday hailed UK approval for the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine as “fantastic” news that would help life get back to normal. “It’s the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again,” he said after regulators gave the green light in…

(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 22, 2019, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha attends the plenary session of the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Bangkok. – Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, under pressure from months of street protests, on December 2, 2020 survived a legal challenge over his living arrangements that could have seen him thrown out of office. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha survived a legal challenge Wednesday over his living arrangements that could have seen him thrown out of office, in a court ruling that prompted…

Villagers gather to check the damage caused by lava flow in Lumajang, East Java province on December 2, 2020, following the eruption of Mount Semeru volcano. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto / AFP) Hundreds of Indonesians have fled their villages after a rumbling volcano spewed hot ash thousands of metres into the air and belched lava down its crater. Mount Semeru on Java island spouted the towering column on Tuesday, prompting a call for around 500 people to temporarily evacuate their homes. Footage from the scene showed dead livestock covered by pyroclastic flows — a fast-moving mixture of hot gas and…