WORLD

Thumanë, Albania | AFP |  When a powerful earthquake struck Albania more than two months ago, buildings collapsed like houses of cards atop sleeping families. As the country struggles to put the pieces back together, it is facing a structural reality that the disaster exposed: the scourge of illegal construction that …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Energy-addicted Gulf states must undertake much deeper reforms or risk seeing their wealth drain away in 15 years as global demand for oil slides, the IMF warned Thursday. “At the current fiscal stance, the region’s financial wealth could be depleted by 2034,” the International …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States and its allies should take controlling stakes in Nokia, Ericsson or both to battle Chinese telecoms giant Huawei’s dominance of the 5G market, US Attorney general Bill Barr said Thursday. “There are only two companies that can compete with Huawei right now: …

BRUNSMARK, Germany | AFP |  The tiny village of Brunsmark, an hour outside Hamburg in the lush north German countryside, might seem an unlikely spot to suffer a sudden Brexit shock. But Britain’s departure from the European Union means Iain Macnab, a Scotsman comfortably settled in the area for decades, must …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump celebrated his impeachment acquittal Thursday in a rambling, emotional speech raging against the investigations that have overshadowed his entire administration. Trump gathered scores of loyal Republican legislators, his legal team, wife Melania and White House aides in the ceremonial East Room and …

Beijing, China | AFP | A Chinese doctor who was among the first to warn publicly about the new coronavirus outbreak — and was reprimanded by authorities for his candor — died of the infection early on Friday, his hospital announced. Li Wenliang was working as an ophthalmologist in the virus epicentre city of Wuhan …

Beijing, China | AFP | China’s coronavirus crisis worsened Thursday as the death toll soared to 563 and the plight of thousands trapped on quarantined cruise ships deepened global panic over the epidemic. More than 28,000 people have been infected in China, where authorities are struggling to contain the outbreak, …

Manchester, United States | AFP | Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined Pete Buttigieg on Thursday in claiming victory in the chaotic Iowa caucuses as an exasperated party chairman ordered a review of the results of the first nominating contest. Sanders, the leftist senator from Vermont, and Buttigieg, the former …

  Paris, France | AFP | Overlapping environmental crises could tip the planet into “global systemic collapse,” more than 200 top scientists warned Wednesday. Climate change, extreme weather events from hurricanes to heatwaves, the decline of life-sustaining ecosystems, food security and dwindling stores of fresh water — each poses a monumental …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis insisted Wednesday poverty could be beaten if the world’s rich play a full part in ending inequality as he attended a conference on financial inclusion. “We are neither condemned to inequality nor to paralysis in the face of injustice. The rich world …