WORLD

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The average price of a home in London dropped in 2017 for the first time in eight years on fallout from Brexit, data showed on Thursday. While prices were up nationwide, they were down in London for the first time since 2009, mortgage lender …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government announced plans Thursday to distribute £330 million ($447 million, 371 million euros) taken from dormant bank accounts to good causes, bringing the total handed out to almost £700 million. The Dormant Accounts Scheme was established in 2008, allowing the reallocation of money …

Wenger compares George Weah’s life to film script London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Arsene Wenger has compared the life of George Weah to a film script following his former player’s election as president of Liberia. Weah, who played for Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan during a glittering career, …

Paris, France | AFP | South Korea’s Samsung has overtaken US rival Intel as the world’s biggest maker of semi-conductors as sales in the sector boom, a study published by consultancy Gartner showed on Thursday. Samsung Electronics “gained the most market share and took the number one position from Intel …

Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | Indonesian authorities have seized 1.3 tonnes of marijuana and arrested six people in a major drug bust on New Year’s Eve, police said Thursday. Authorities confiscated the drugs at a port near Lampung, on the southern tip of Sumatra island. The bricks of tightly-wrapped cannabis — …

Shanghai, China | AFP |  President Xi Jinping has issued a blunt call for China’s military to be ready for war and unafraid to die defending the country, as geopolitical tensions mount in Asia. Xi’s exhortation to the world’s largest fighting force, parts of which were revealed only late Thursday, …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Danish police are investigating the theft of what is claimed to be “the world’s most expensive” bottle of vodka, in what the bar owner says could be an inside job. The bottle, made from white and yellow gold and containing a diamond-encrusted replica of the …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow on Thursday warned Washington against interfering in Iran’s “internal affairs” after US President Donald Trump pledged to help Iranians “take back” their government following protests. The White House said it was weighing sanctions against those involved in a crackdown against the unrest, which has left …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar has approved legislation allowing 100-percent ownership for foreign investors in most sectors of the economy in a bid to boost non-energy revenues, the government said on Thursday. The move comes at a time of political crisis in the Gulf, with Qatar under an economic and …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s grand mufti has said that bitcoin is forbidden in Islam, warning the digital currency could be used for criminal purposes. Bitcoin, launched in 2009 and based on a peer-to-peer payment system, poses “high risks to individuals and states,” Shawqi Allam said in a published ruling. …