Category: WORLD NEWS

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing growing criticism over his handling of reported anti-Semitism among some of his supporters. The simmering row escalated today with newspaper reports about numerous anti-Semitic Facebook posts from groups that support Labour. The Sunday Times reported that some senior Labour staff workers were members of Facebook groups that made anti-Semitic and violent comments. Labour has denied the groups are connected to the party in any way. Corbyn’s leadership also has been criticized by longtime Labour activist David Garrard, a major donor. Garrard told…

Polling stations across Costa Rica opened early today for a presidential election that has split the country between an ultra-conservative evangelical preacher who slams gay rights and a former minister from the centre-left ruling party. The result will decide who rules the small Central American nation of five million people for the next four years. Pre-vote surveys suggest a neck-and-neck race between Fabricio Alvarado, a right-wing 43-year-old preacher, journalist and singer, and Carlos Alvarado (no relation), a 38-year-old former journalist who was a labor minister in the outgoing government. Fabricio…

Hope Hicks has bid farewell to the White House and the press-shy communications director took a rare moment in the spotlight on her final day in Donald Trump’s administration. But the exit yesterday of the president’s most trusted aide, coming one day after yet another Cabinet departure, highlights continuing uncertainty among Trump aides and White House staff about who might be the next to go. Hicks was given a gracious goodbye by Trump outside the Oval Office. That stands in stark contrast to the White House treatment of David Shulkin,…

China said today its relations with India are developing with a “sound momentum” and the two sides have made new achievements as they made efforts to reset their ties with major high-level visits post-Dokalam. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang, however, parried questions over India cancelling some events of the Dalai Lama. “Recently, thanks to concerted efforts by the two sides, China-India relations have been developing with a sound momentum. We have seen some new achievements in our cooperation in various fields,” Lu told a media briefing here. He was replying…

Pakistan today said its policy of restraint on the Line of Control (LoC) should not be treated as a sign of weakness and warned India of a “befitting response” in case of any misadventure. Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal made the remarks during his weekly media briefing here. “The Pakistani forces have exerted great restraint but this restraint should not be construed as a sign of weakness. Any Indian misadventure on the LoC and Working Boundary can lead to a strategic miscalculation,” he said. “While we advise restraint to the…

The US and South Korea have reached an agreement to revise their six year-old trade pact, a senior administration official said today, describing it a “historic” development and a big political win for President Donald Trump. The agreement has come after Trump recently told reporters while signing a USD 1.3 trillion spending bill that his administration was “very close” to striking a trade deal with South Korea. Trump has been a big critic of the existing trade deal between the two countries, slamming it as “horrible” and threatening to yank…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that he is committed to denuclearisation as the dictator made a secret trip to China ahead of his landmark meeting with US President Donald Trump. After two days of speculation, China and North Korea both confirmed that Kim had travelled to Beijing to meet Xi, with both sides seeking to portray strong ties. Kim paid a four-day “unofficial visit” to Beijing from Sunday to Wednesday — his first journey abroad since taking power and his first reported meeting…