WORLD

Hong Kong, China | AFP | As the Chinese zodiac turns into the Year of the Pig next week, feng shui masters are predicting turbulence and division for world leaders at home — not least President Donald Trump, who risks having past secrets revealed. Sitting behind a large wooden desk …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Central banks have bought the most gold in nearly 50 years as the precious metal profits from its  safehaven status, the World Gold Council said Thursday, amid trade tensions and Brexit uncertainty. The banks added 651.5 tonnes to official gold reserves in 2018, up 74 …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British MPs on Tuesday voted on a series of amendments seeking to show what they want as Brexit approaches on March 29, with Britain currently on course to crash out of the EU without a withdrawal deal. Earlier this month, they rejected the agreement Prime …

Beijing, China | AFP | Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei survived food shortages during China’s Cultural Revolution, but now the reclusive billionaire identified as “Individual-1” in a US indictment faces an existential fight for his family and company. Ren, 74, founded Huawei in 1987 with just 21,000 yuan ($5,600) and watched …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Theresa May’s bid to reopen the Brexit deal could be a final throw of the dice or another delay to get MPs to back it — but either way, she is running out of options. Analysts have warned of the growing risk of Britain …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani slammed his critics on Wednesday, defending the political achievements of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and calling the US an “oath-breaker”. “One should not condemn the government or the great Islamic system instead of America — this is the greatest damage …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States hopes to make “significant progress” during high-stakes trade talks with Chinese officials this week, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday. Beijing and Washington have a month remaining in a 90-day truce declared in December before US tariffs on hundreds of billions in Chinese exports are …

Paris, France | AFP | World powers are vying to develop so-called “hypersonic” weapons that travel several times the speed of sound, with France the latest to join a field led so far by Russia and China. Hypersonics are like missiles that travel at over five times the speed of …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia on Monday launched an ambitious programme which it hopes will attract $427 billion in investments in the industrial and logistics sectors, as the OPEC kingpin bids to reduce dependence on oil. To kickstart the 12-year programme, the Gulf state announced the signing …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Police in Spain said Monday they have smashed a drug smuggling ring which used drones to “monitor” police and ensure the coast was clear when they unloaded shipments of hashish on the country’s southern coast. Officers arrested 12 suspected members of the gang in the southern …