WORLD

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP |  Data guru Hans Rosling, a Swedish public health expert famous for combating scientific ignorance with catchy YouTube videos in his mission to promote a “fact-based world”, has died at the age of 68, his foundation announced. Rosling, who described himself as an “edutainer”, was diagnosed …

COMMENT: By Richard N. Haass In a globalised world, a global operating system premised solely on respect for sovereignty is inadequate For nearly four centuries, since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the Thirty Years’ War in Europe, the concept of sovereignty – the right of countries to an …

Wuerzburg, Germany | AFP | A Syrian refugee whose selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been repeatedly manipulated to link him to violent jihad, took Facebook to court on Monday for spreading defamatory fake news. Anas Modamani, 19, says the US social media giant has failed to take down …

Washington, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump returned to Washington Monday from a weekend trip to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — stopping off at a US military base where he made the provocative, and unexplained, claim that the media was deliberately disregarding jihadist attacks. Meanwhile on the …

Washington, United States | AFP | A coalition led by some of the world’s biggest tech firms is taking on President Donald Trump’s travel ban, signaling the contentious relationship between the sector and the White House could be about to get worse. Scores of technology giants — including Apple, Facebook, …

Palm Beach, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump blasted the federal courts for a second day in a row on Sunday after his efforts to implement a travel ban were suspended and warned that the judiciary could be placing Americans in “peril.” “Just cannot believe a judge would …

Washington, United States | AFP |  A US appeals court has rejected a government request to immediately reinstate President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration ban — the latest twist in what could be a long, high-stakes legal battle. Here are the main facts about Trump’s executive order and the court action …

Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | The world’s longest commercial flight landed in New Zealand Monday with the arrival of Qatar Airways’s 14,535 kilometres (9,032 miles) Doha-Auckland service, the airline announced. “We’ve officially landed in Auckland,” the airline tweeted as flight QR920 landed at 7.25am (1825 GMT Sunday), five minutes …

Bucharest, Romania | AFP | Romania’s premier announced Saturday a dramatic climbdown on legislation that had been seen as a retreat on corruption, after the biggest protests since dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was toppled and executed in 1989. Demonstrators vowed to keep up the pressure on the government, however, after five …

Palm Beach, United States | AFP | The US government began to roll back Donald Trump’s contentious travel ban targeting citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries Saturday, after a stinging legal defeat for the new president. Government agencies and major global airlines said they would recognize valid visas and cease enforcing …