WORLD

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain and the EU agreed Thursday to hold more talks to try to avoid a no-deal Brexit, after a “robust” meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. A joint statement issued after the talks in Brussels said Juncker had again warned that  November’s withdrawal agreement …

Paris, France | AFP | The French foreign ministry on Wednesday denounced as “unacceptable” a meeting between Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and France’s “yellow vest” anti-government protesters. “This new provocation is unacceptable between neighbouring countries and partners at the heart of the European Union,” a ministry spokesman said in a statement a …

Rome, Italy | AFP | UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin was on Thursday re-elected for a four-year term as head of European football’s governing body by acclamation. The 51-year-old Slovenian lawyer was the only candidate going forward for election at the UEFA Congress in Rome. Ceferin took over two and a half years ago after the corruption …

Washington, United States | AFP | Smartphone use has become the norm in most developed nations, while many emerging economies are showing sharp gains, a global survey showed Tuesday. The Pew Research Center report found strong majorities of adults using smartphones in the world’s wealthier countries, led by 95 percent …

Raub, Malaysia | AFP | Soaring demand for durians in China is being blamed for a new wave of deforestation in Malaysia with environmentalists warning vast amounts of jungle is being cleared to make way for massive plantations of the spiky, pungent fruit. Grown across tropical Southeast Asia, the durian is …

Hanoi, Vietnam | AFP | Communist-run but with capitalist leanings, and a friend to both the United States and North Korea, Vietnam will host the next summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un from February 27-28. Like North Korea, Vietnam was once locked in a bloody and bitter war with …

“Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Donald Trump’s much-trailed announcement of a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this month in Vietnam sets up another box-office summit between the two mercurial leaders who were once bitter verbal enemies. As Trump and Kim prepare for their second date, here …

  Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump’s call for a bipartisan commitment to eradicate HIV in the United States within a decade has been welcomed by experts and advocacy organizations even as major challenges remain. Addressing Congress during the annual State of the Union speech, Trump hailed what …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP |  Would-be cigarette smokers in the US state of Hawaii might have to wait a very long time for their first legal drag, after a lawmaker introduced a bill that would bar sales to anyone under the age of 100. The proposed law, introduced …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump has indicated he could declare a national emergency in order to force the construction of hundreds of miles of border wall to prevent migrants from crossing into the United States illegally from Mexico. Trump is frustrated by the continuing high level of migrants, mostly from Central …