WORLD

Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP |  Ten thousand people are expected to join a demonstration Saturday in Erfurt, capital of Thuringia state in Germany’s former communist east, where far-right lawmakers last week helped install a new state premier. “Not with us! No pacts with fascists any time or anywhere!” is …

Athens, Greece | AFP |  Facing overwhelming migration pressure on the Aegean with island camps on the brink of asphyxiation, the conservative Greek government has hardened its asylum policy with increased repatriations, new detention centres and plans for a sea barrier. “The decongestion of our islands is our number one priority,” …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | In quashing the idea of married priests in the Amazon, Pope Francis has appeased traditionalists while disappointing progressives who had hoped for a historic turning point in the Catholic church. In his “apostolic exhortation” on the Amazon basin published Wednesday, Francis slammed the …

Paris, France | AFP |  Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday backed moves by the OECD group of free-market economies to reform the way online giants are taxed worldwide, even if that means companies like his own paying more to national governments. “We also want tax reform and I’m …

Washington, United States | AFP |  US Attorney General Bill Barr on Thursday delivered a highly unusual public rebuke of Donald Trump, saying the president’s tweets were making his job at the Justice Department “impossible.” “I have a problem with some of the tweets,” Barr said in an interview with ABC …

San Francisco, United States | AFP |  Billionaire Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has purchased a Los Angeles-area estate for $165 million, setting a new record for the region, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Bezos bought the Warner Estate from media mogul David Geffen, according to the Journal. It said …

San Francisco, United States | AFP |  The Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp said Wednesday it now has more than two billion users around the world, as it reaffirmed its stand on the need for strong encryption to protect privacy. WhatsApp, acquired by Facebook in 2014, has grown into one of …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | The coronavirus crisis, which has already battered oil prices, threatens to further undercut Gulf economies battling a downturn and struggling to wean themselves from a decades-old energy addiction. The six Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates …

Washington, United States | AFP |  US President Donald Trump faced fresh accusations of abuse of power Tuesday after appearing to pressure the Justice Department to seek a lighter prison sentence for his longtime political aide Roger Stone. Stone was convicted in November last year of lying to Congress, tampering with …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  Italian senators will decide Wednesday whether far-right leader Matteo Salvini should face trial on charges of illegally detaining migrants at sea last year, for which he could be jailed for 15 years. A court in Sicily has recommended that former interior minister Salvini stand trial for …