WORLD

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Protesters blocked roads, highways and train tracks in Catalonia on Wednesday as part of a region-wide strike called by a pro-independence union. According to the Catalan Transit Service, people blocked roads in more than 50 places in the region, including major motorways like the AP-7 …

Beijing, China | AFP | US President Donald Trump toured the Forbidden City with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday as he began the crucial leg of an Asian tour intended to build a global front against North Korea’s nuclear threats. After warning North Korea’s “cruel dictatorship” in a speech in …

Bonn, Germany | AFP | Syria told the UN climate talks in Bonn on Tuesday that it would join the Paris Agreement, leaving the United States as the only nation in the world opting to stay outside the landmark treaty. “We are going to join the Paris Agreement,” the Syrian delegate, …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  The World Health Organization on Tuesday urged farmers to stop using antibiotics in healthy animals to help ensure the drugs remain effective in fighting life-threatening diseases in humans. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animals and humans is contributing to the growing threat of “superbugs”, …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | The #MeToo campaign that saw women around the world share their experiences of sexual assault struck a deep chord in Egypt where life is often a daily battle against harassment. Emboldened by the global outpouring, female internet users in the country took to their computers …

Washington, United States | AFP | Juli Briskman didn’t think twice when she gave President Donald Trump the finger as his motorcade passed her while she was cycling on a road near his golf club. “He was passing by and my blood just started to boil,” the Democrat mother of two, …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday launched a controversial project to build a brand new opera house in Istanbul, saying the new building would be a symbol for the city. The 2,500-seat opera house, due to open in early 2019, will be built on the …

Paris, France | AFP | Two novels about the Nazis took France’s biggest literary prizes on Monday, with Eric Vuillard’s story of how German industry and finance backed Adolf Hitler winning the top Prix Goncourt. “L’ordre du jour” (in English “Agenda”) had been among the favourites for the Goncourt prize — …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia has arrested 11 princes, four sitting ministers and dozens of former ministers, in what authorities hailed as a decisive anti-corruption sweep. Separately, key security chiefs were replaced in high-profile sackings. Here are some of the high-profile names swept up in the purge: Prince …

Washington, United States | AFP | A new poll, released a year after Donald Trump’s stunning electoral victory, shows the US president suffering historically dismal approval ratings as the Russia investigation casts a continuing shadow. The Washington Post, which conducted the survey with ABC News, said Trump’s approval rating was “demonstrably …