January, 2017

• 14 January

  Modi’s setback on black money

    India’s controversial decision to ban 500- and 1,000-rupee notes has backfired. The idea was to root out “black money” — the profits of political corruption, tax evasion and ordinary crime. But efforts to get around the ban have been so effective that those problems may now be harder to solve than before. Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserves credit for ...

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• 14 January

  World has best chance to reunite Cyprus

    Once again Cyprus reunification talks failed to reach any conclusion. The diplomats from Turkey, Greece and Britain suspended the talks after failing to iron out differences on security guarantee for its ethnic Greek and Turkish communities. The reunifications talks have failed multiple times in the past also. This gives rise to skepticism. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when ...

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• 14 January

  Trump ‘closeness’ to embolden Putin, weaken NATO pact, says UK

  

    Bloomberg The UK government is deeply concerned that Donald Trump’s closeness to Russia will give sway to Vladimir Putin in eastern Europe and weaken US ties with its traditional Western allies. The US President-elect caused alarm in London after saying he wants a warmer relationship with Russian President than the Obama administration had, according to two senior officials, who ...

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• 14 January

  Serbia sends train to Kosovo north despite Pristina protest

    BELGRADE / AP Serbia has launched a railway service to Serb-dominated northern Kosovo despite protests from the government in Pristina which called it a provocation and an aggressive violation of its sovereignty. Serbian officials in Belgrade on Saturday saw off a Russian-made train decorated with the Serb flags, churches, monasteries and medieval towns, and inscribed with “Kosovo is Serbian” ...

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• 14 January

  Thousands expected for Martin Luther King Jr march

    WASHINGTON / AFP Thousands are expected in Washington for a march organizers say is designed to “protect the dream of Dr Martin Luther King Jr ” and to “preserve the legacy of President Barack Obama.” The National Action Network, the group founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, is sponsoring Saturday’s “We Shall Not Be Moved” march and rally ahead ...

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• 14 January

  South African photographer abducted in Syria: Aid group

    JOHANNESBURG / AP Gunmen in Syria have abducted a South African freelance photographer who was traveling with aid workers to the border with Turkey, an aid group said on Saturday. Shiraaz Mohamed was kidnapped on Tuesday afternoon on a “relatively safe route” near a medical facility operated by Gift of the Givers, said Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of the South ...

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• 14 January

  Japan, Australia to work with Trump on security

  

    Bloomberg Japan and Australia agreed to enhance coordination on Asian security issues, including the South China Sea and North Korea, at a meeting of the two countries’ leaders on Saturday, while reaffirming that the US remains the cornerstone of their strategic arrangements. “We confirmed our intention to maintain solid cooperation with the incoming Trump administration,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo ...

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• 14 January

  Merkel for multilateral approach as Trump presidency nears

    BERLIN / AP German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stressing as she awaits Donald Trump’s inauguration that the world’s problems need solving in cooperation, rather than by each country individually. Asked at a news conference Saturday about protectionist tendencies in the U.S., Merkel said she will seek a dialogue with the new president. “I don’t want to get ahead of that, ...

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• 14 January

  Iraqi forces push onto Mosul University grounds

  

    MOSUL / AP Iraqi forces have secured less than a quarter of Mosul University as they face stiff resistance from IS fighters in the battle for control of the city, according to senior Iraqi commanders overseeing the advance. Convoys of Iraqi Humvees snaked through the sprawling university compound in eastern Mosul, pausing for artillery and airstrikes to clear snipers perched ...

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• 14 January

  Palestinian leader meets with pope ahead of Paris summit

    VATICAN CITY / AP Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heads into a meeting on Saturday with Pope Francis as he rallies international support ahead of this weekend’s Paris peace summit. Among other things, Abbas is expected to raise with Francis the Palestinian concern about a possible move of the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Palestinians strongly ...

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