Category: WORLD NEWS

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a controversial law allowing independent journalists and bloggers to be labelled as “foreign agents”, a move that critics say will violate media freedom. Russian legislation passed in 2012 already gave authorities the power to brand media organisations and NGOs as foreign agents, a term that has Soviet-era overtones. The new law, which now extends to individuals, will come into effect immediately, according to a document published on the Russian government website. Foreign agents, defined as involved in politics and receiving money from abroad, must…

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UN Secretary-General Ant nio Guterres urged countries Monday not to give up in the fight against climate change, as representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in Madrid for a two-week meeting on tackling global warming. In his opening speech to delegates, Guterres cited recent scientific data showing that levels of heat-trapping gases have hit a record high, reaching levels not seen for at least 3 million years when sea levels were 10-20 meters (33-66 feet) higher than today.Unless emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are sharply cut, temperatures…

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson struggled Friday to move Britain’s election debate away from questions about his character and onto Brexit, promising to bolster protection for British businesses and farmers once the country has left the European Union.Johnson tried to brush aside criticism of his past comments about single mothers and his current refusal to submit to the same amount of televised scrutiny as other party leaders.At a news conference, Johnson claimed Brexit had been “delayed, diluted, denied” by obstructive politicians.He said that if the Conservatives won the December 12 election…

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A key Congressional Committee in the House of Representatives has invited US President Donald Trump to attend or send his officials to participate in the impeachment hearings against him. House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday announced to hold its first impeachment hearing against Trump next week. Titled, The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J Trump: Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment is the first in the third phase of the investigation, by the Democratic Party controlled House, into whether Trump abused his powers in pressing Ukrainian leaders to find dirt on his…

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Pakistan’s ailing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was last week allowed to go to London for medical treatment for multiple diseases, will undergo an advanced cardiac test to be followed by a non-surgical heart procedure, media reports said on Tuesday. Sharif, 69, left for London on November 19 in an air ambulance for medical treatment after the Lahore High Court allowed him to travel abroad for four weeks. Doctors examining Sharif have recommended Sharif for cardiac catheterisation before a possible coronary angioplasty, a non-surgical procedure that improves blood flow…

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Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp was cruising towards a crushing victory in community-level elections on Monday, sending the Beijing-backed government a clear message of public support for the demands of a protest movement that has gripped the territory for months. Counting was still under way following record turnout in Sunday’s polls, but partial results indicated that candidates favouring greater democracy were on course to seize a shock majority of the normally establishment-dominated 18 district councils. The stunning result was a humiliating rebuke to Beijing and dashed any lingering hopes of Hong…

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Pope Francis Sunday railed against atomic weapons, the nuclear deterrent and the growing arms trade, as he paid tribute to the victims of the “unspeakable horror” of the Nagasaki bomb.In a highly symbolic visit to the Japanese city devastated by the nuclear attack in August 1945, Francis said nuclear weapons were “not the answer” to a desire for security, peace and stability.”Indeed they seem always to thwart it,” he said.At least 74,000 people died from the atomic bomb unleashed on the city in western Japan — just three days after…

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China is seeking to “take over” Australia’s political system with an “insidious” and systematic campaign of espionage and influence-peddling, Canberra’s ex-spymaster said in an interview published Friday.Duncan Lewis, who resigned in September after five years at the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said China could target anyone in political office, with the impact potentially not known for years to come. “Espionage and foreign interference is insidious. Its effects might not present for decades and by that time it’s too late,” Lewis was quoted as telling the Sydney…

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Pakistan’s ailing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday left for London in an air ambulance for medical treatment for multiple diseases, days after the Lahore High Court allowed him to travel abroad for four weeks and rejected the Imran Khan government’s condition of furnishing an indemnity bond.Sharif, 69, is accompanied by his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, his personal physician Adnan Khan and other personnel.The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) supremo left for London via Qatar after arriving at Lahore airport, where the air ambulance equipped with an intensive care…

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Sri Lanka’s newly-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa delivered a measured speech on Monday at his swearing-in ceremony, saying his country will maintain friendly ties with all nations and remain neutral in matters involving international powers so as to stay out of conflicts.The 70-year-old controversial wartime defence secretary’s statement is of importance as Sri Lanka has historically been an important commercial hub along the maritime routes due to its strategic position in the Indian Ocean, where China is increasingly making its inroads, raising concerns in India. Rajapaksa stormed to victory on Sunday,…

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