Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Since 1901, the Nobel prizes have been awarded to men, women and organisations whose work has led to great advances for mankind, in line with the wishes of Alfred Nobel. Here are five things to know about the prizes and their creator. – Nobel the poet …
Read More »Portugal’s Antonio Costa, shrewd dealmaker poised for re-election
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Portugal’s Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa, tipped to win a second term in an election on Sunday, is a shrewd tactician who balanced the budget without losing the support of hard-left parties that propped up his minority government. The white-haired former mayor of Lisbon, of Indian …
Read More »COE: Salazar doping scandal won’t ‘derail’ championships
Doha, Qatar | AFP | World athletics chief Sebastian Coe insisted Wednesday the World Championships had not been “derailed” by the Alberto Salazar doping case after the high-profile coach was banned for four years. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Coe said the governing body had reacted swiftly after …
Read More »White US ex-cop gets 10 years in prison for killing black neighbor
Washington, United States | AFP | A former Texas police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for murdering her neighbor in 2018 when she shot him after entering the wrong apartment while off duty. The Dallas jury could have handed down a sentence between five and 99 …
Read More »Trump fury grows against rising impeachment storm
Washington, United States | AFP | A bellicose Donald Trump on Wednesday unleashed furious attacks on the impeachment inquiry launched against him by Democrats, amid an intensifying standoff between the president and Congress. Trump — accused of leaning on Ukraine’s president to dig up dirt on one of his main 2020 …
Read More »Narendra Modi declares India free finally of open defecation
Modi hails toilet ‘milestone’ as India marks Gandhi’s 150th Ahmedabad, India | AFP | Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday declared the country of 1.3 billion people free of open defecation, and turned his sights towards eradicating single-use plastic next. Modi — whose claim has been challenged by experts …
Read More »No-deal Brexit would slam German growth in 2020: experts
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Britain quitting the European Union without a deal on October 31 would deal a harsh blow to Germany’s already stuttering economy in 2020, leading think-tanks said in Berlin Wednesday. “For the coming year, we should reckon with a deduction of 0.4 percentage points” in …
Read More »Johnson prepares to unveil ‘final’ Brexit offer
Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Boris Johnson will submit “final” proposals for a new Brexit agreement on Wednesday, officials said, warning that if the European Union did not engage with them, Britain would leave the bloc this month with no divorce deal. Johnson will provide details of what …
Read More »Trump denounces impeachment inquiry as a ‘coup’
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump on Tuesday denounced the impeachment inquiry threatening his presidency as a “coup,” as his administration pushed back hard against the investigation. Trump’s comments came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to prevent or delay five State Department officials from testifying in the …
Read More »EU governments, Uganda’s Kasaija warn about crypto-currencies
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP | A day after Uganda’s Finance Minister Matia Kasaija warned about the use of crypto-currencies, European governments are asking questions about Libra, forcing Facebook’s partners to reconsider. Mastercard, Visa and other financial partners being enlisted to oversee Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra are having second thoughts …
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