United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday said a $100 billion annual fund to help developing countries tackle climate change was crucial to achieve the goals of the Paris climate deal. “We need to mobilize the agreed $100 billion annually for developing countries,” Guterres …
Read More »Peace brings hope for Colombia’s biodiversity: Santos
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday hailed his country’s peace deal with the FARC guerrilla group as a chance to preserve his country’s biodiversity after decades of violence. “We need to reconcile also with the environment, which was a big victim of the armed …
Read More »Life expectancy up 10 years thanks to better lifestyles: OECD
Paris, France | AFP | Healthier lifestyles and higher incomes have helped increase life expectancy in the 35 OECD nations by 10 years in the past half century, according to a report published Friday. The OECD’s ‘Health at a Glance 2017’ report said the average life expectancy throughout the group …
Read More »Lebanon’s Hezbollah accuses Saudi of detaining Hariri
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday accused Saudi Arabia of detaining prime minister Saad Hariri and of asking the Shiite movement’s arch-foe Israel to launch strikes. Hariri’s sudden resignation on November 4 in a statement made from Riyadh took the Lebanese political class …
Read More »Under-fire US comic admits to sexual misconduct
New York, United States | AFP | A US comedian on Friday admitted sexual misconduct and expressed remorse after being accused of masturbating in front of women, a rare statement of contrition in the midst of Hollywood’s burgeoning sexual harassment scandal. Father of two Louis C.K. released the statement to …
Read More »EU warns Brexit talks clock is ticking
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU warned Britain on Thursday that time is running out to reach a divorce deal by the end of the month, a necessary step to guarantee moving the Brexit process on to trade negotiations. As Brexit talks resumed in Brussels, concerns are growing among EU …
Read More »UN’s number two accused in Chinese scam to import Nigerian rosewood
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed faced accusations from an advocacy group on Thursday that she granted illegal permits to Chinese firms to import endangered Nigerian timber when she was Nigeria’s environment minister. Documents provided by Mohammed were used by Chinese importers to clear …
Read More »Netanyahu grilled ‘for several hours’ in graft probe: police
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was questioned by police on Thursday evening in connection with two separate investigations into alleged corruption, a police statement said. “We confirm that the prime minister was questioned today for several hours at his Jerusalem residence,” the Hebrew language statement said …
Read More »US Senate candidate accused of sexual contact with minor in 1979: report
Washington, United States | AFP | The Republican candidate for a vacant US Senate seat initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was practicing law, the victim, now a grown woman, said in an explosive report Thursday. Candidate Roy Moore of Alabama was facing calls to step …
Read More »No decision on Trump, Putin meeting: Tillerson
Beijing, China | AFP | Russia and the US disagreed on Thursday over whether US President Donald Trump plans to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at an Asia-Pacific summit in Vietnam. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian news agencies that the meeting “will be on November 10,” with the exact …
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