International

Chinese universities start ‘Xi Thought’ institutes

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Xi Jinping Thought will now be taught, researched and promoted in universities across China, ensuring that the leader’s eponymous philosophy is implanted into students’ hearts and minds. At least twenty  universities have established research institutes for Xi’s ideology, which was enshrined in the Communist Party’s constitution during its 19th national congress this month. The distinction places Xi on a par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. It means that his dogma — “Xi […]

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NATO chief calls N. Korea ‘global threat’ during Japan visit

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called North Korea a “global threat” Monday and said he backed tighter sanctions against it during a visit to Japan, which has been targeted by Pyongyang’s provocations. Stoltenberg is in Tokyo to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other senior officials including defence minister Itsunori Onodera later in the day. “We are as concerned as you are about the provocative, reckless behavior from North Korea,” he said […]

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N. Korea’s Kim tours cosmetics plant with wife, sister

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un took his stylish wife and powerful sister to a make-up plant for a “field guidance trip” amid the country’s nuclear standoff with the US. During a visit to the Pyongyang Cosmetics Factory in the capital, Kim hailed its “world-level” products that realized “the dream of the women who want to be more beautiful,” the official KCNA news agency reported. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yo-Jong, […]

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Britain defends Balfour Declaration, 100 years on

 LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s foreign secretary on Sunday defended his predecessor’s role a century ago in paving the way for the creation of Israel, saying two sovereign states for Israelis and Palestinians remains the “only viable solution” for peace. This Thursday marks the centenary of the Balfour Declaration — a 67-word letter from Britain’s then foreign secretary Arthur Balfour that threw London’s backing behind a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister […]

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Qatar emir accuses blockade countries of wanting ‘regime change’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Qatar’s emir in an intervew airing Sunday accused Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies of seeking to topple his government with its nearly five month old political and economic embargo of the tiny Gulf state. “They want a regime change. It’s… so obvious,” Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told CBS’ 60 Minutes. “History as well tells us, teaches us they tried to do that before, in 1996 after my father […]

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Kurdish leader Barzani resigns after independence vote backfires

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) — Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani said on Sunday (October 29) the he would give up his position as president on November 1, after an independence referendum he championed backfired and triggered a regional crisis. In his address, his first since Iraqi forces launched a surprise offensive to recapture Kurdish-held territory in mid-October, Barzani vigorously defended his decision to hold the September 25 voting, saying its results can never be erased. Barzani […]

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Mass march for unity after Catalan independence move

by Marie Giffard with Mariette Le Roux in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards rallied in Catalonia’s capital Barcelona Sunday, waving national and European flags and chanting “Viva Espana!” to denounce regional lawmakers’ vote to sever the region from Spain. Crowds of protesters swarmed, singing and clapping, through Barcelona’s streets in a sea of red-and-yellow Spanish flags, brandishing placards reading “De Todos” (It belongs to all of us). […]

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Death toll rises to 14 in Mogadishu bombings: official

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AFP) — At least 14 people were killed in coordinated car bombings followed by an attack on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, a security official said. “About 14 people, most of them civilians, were confirmed dead so far and the security forces are still working to ensure the area is clear,” said security official Mohamed Moalim Adan. “Sporadic gunfire” was continuing with at least two gunmen from the Shabaab […]

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Axed Catalan leader urges resistance to Madrid rule

  by Jordi Zamora Barcelo with Marianne Barriaux in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalonia’s secessionist leader Carles Puigdemont stood defiant Saturday against Madrid’s moves to depose him, urging “democratic resistance” to direct rule imposed in a bid to stop the region breaking away from Spain. In a televised statement, Puigdemont accused the central government of trampling on the will of independence-seeking Catalans who rejoiced at Friday’s vote by regional lawmakers to […]

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Kenya in limbo as incomplete election keeps tensions high

  by Fran Blandy Agence France Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Kenya was stuck in limbo Saturday as a repeat election remained on hold in flashpoint opposition areas, while some picked up the pieces from violent protests that have claimed nine lives. There was little doubt that President Uhuru Kenyatta would win by a landslide after Thursday’s election was boycotted by his rival Raila Odinga, however low turnout is likely to tarnish the credibility of […]

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Five things to know about Iceland, a Nordic island country

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AFP) — From its unique history to its passion for chess, books and football, here are five things to know about Iceland, which votes in legislative elections on Saturday: – Crime – Contrary to the dark goings-on in Nordic noir literature, Iceland is a tranquil North Atlantic island of 335,000 people, where police patrol unarmed and homicides are extremely rare. The country has on average only 1.8 homicides a year. As a result, […]

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Fighting to farming: New life for Colombia’s ex-rebels

by Raul Arboleda © Agence France-Presse La Montañita, Colombia (AFP) — Felix Salcedo lost an arm fighting during Colombia’s half-century civil war which ended in August. Today, he uses his remaining arm to grow pineapples. Like dozens of other former FARC guerrillas in his village, Salcedo is trying to earn a living legally after his rebel movement disarmed under a December peace deal with the government. Salcedo, 38, thinks back on the half of his life he […]

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