Tokyo / AFP Japan’s lower house of parliament on Thursday passed the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal, a move largely viewed as an empty gesture due to opposition by US president-elect Donald Trump. President Barack Obama championed the 12-nation deal saying it would enable the United States to set the global trade agenda in the face of China’s …

  Brussels / AFP Donald Trump’s “America first” approach has Europe worried he may cut US commitments to NATO just as it mounts its biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War to counter a more assertive Russia. Trump caused uproar during the campaign when he suggested Washington would think twice about coming to the aid of an …

    Vienna /AFP Donald Trump’s stunning victory is a “wake-up call” against the rise of populism ahead of Austria’s presidential election, candidate Alexander Van der Bellen said on Thursday, three weeks before the poll. The independent ecologist is running against Norbert Hofer who is striving to become the EU’s first far-right elected head of state on December 4. Opinion …