Category: World

(Associated Press): China and 14 other countries agreed Sunday to set up the world’s largest trading bloc, encompassing nearly a third of all economic activity, in a deal many in Asia are hoping will help hasten a recovery from the shocks of the pandemic. As reported by AP, The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP,… Continue reading ASEAN, China, other partners set world’s biggest trade pact

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Israel worked together to track and kill a senior al-Qaida operative in Iran earlier this year, a bold intelligence operation by the two allied nations that came as the Trump administration was ramping up pressure on Tehran. Four current and former U.S. officials said Abu Mohammed al-Masri, al-Qaida’s… Continue reading US, Israel worked together to track and kill al-Qaida No. 2

DUBAI (Reuters): The United Arab Emirates will extend its “golden” visa system – which grants 10-year residency in the Gulf state – to certain professionals, specialised degree-holders and others, the UAE’s vice president said on Sunday. Foreigners in the UAE usually have renewable visas valid for only a few years tied to employment. Reuters has… Continue reading UAE widens 10-year residency ‘golden’ visa eligibility

WASHINGTON (AP): Joe Biden faces a decision unlike any other incoming president: whether to back a short-term national lockdown to finally arrest a raging pandemic. For now, it’s a question the president-elect would prefer to avoid. In the week since he defeated President Donald Trump, Biden has devoted most of his public remarks to encouraging… Continue reading Biden faces tough choice of whether to back virus lockdowns

WASHINGTON (AP): Winston Churchill was not known for leaving his thoughts unspoken. One of them was this: “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried.” President Donald Trump, who has professed admiration for, if not deep knowledge of, the British prime… Continue reading Trump putting democracy to the test after his loss to Biden

BANGKOK (Reuters): Thousands of people protested in Bangkok on Saturday in the latest in months of anti-government demonstrations that have also called for reforms to Thailand’s powerful monarchy. A few kilometres away, thousands of royalists gathered in yellow shirts and waved Thai flags as they waited to greet King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who was expected to… Continue reading Thousands of Thai protesters call for removal of prime minister

HONG KONG (AP): Hong Kong’s pro-democracy legislators began resigning in protest Thursday, one day after the government ousted four members of their camp. The 15 remaining members of the bloc have said they will resign en masse in a show of solidarity after China’s central government in Beijing passed a resolution this week that led… Continue reading Hong Kong pro-democracy legislators hand in resignations

WASHINGTON/WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters): President-elect Joe Biden will press on with building his governing team on Thursday, ignoring President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept defeat. New records for coronavirus infections and hospitalizations ensured that the transition will be dominated by the response to the pandemic, which has accelerated since the November 3 election. Trump remains in… Continue reading Biden ignores Trump to build team; eyes on pandemic as hospitalizations soar

(Aljazeera): Bahrain’s long-serving Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has died, the state media reported. He was 84. “The Royal Court mourns His Royal Highness who passed away this morning at Mayo Clinic Hospital in the United States of America,” the Bahrain News Agency said on Wednesday, without elaborating. Bahrain’s King Hamad bin… Continue reading Bahrain’s long-serving PM Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa dies

Washington (Reuters): U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will further lay the groundwork for his new administration on Wednesday as President Donald Trump pursues a flurry of longshot lawsuits challenging the election results in an effort to cling to power. Trump has declined to concede, instead lodging unsupported charges of election fraud that have gained little traction.… Continue reading Biden plans move into White House as Trump clings to hope