December, 2016

• 19 December

  Pokemon Go just can’t seem to catch a break

  

    Last week was rough for Pokemon Go, the smartphone game Niantic Inc. released to great enthusiasm in July. On Monday, the company announced a much-anticipated update. Players were looking forward to a bevy of new creatures to catch and maybe a chance to earn double points as they had during Halloween and Thanksgiving promotions. Instead all they got were ...

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• 19 December

  Thousands evacuated from Aleppo

  

    Aleppo / AFP Several thousand people left the rebel enclave of Aleppo on Monday, raising hope for many others still stranded as Russia eased its objections to sending UN observers to oversee the evacuations. Brokered by rivals Turkey and Russia, the complex deal will eventually see President Bashar al-Assad’s forces exert full control over Syria’s battered second city. Early ...

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• 19 December

  Iraqis create market in mud of displaced camp

  

    Khazir / AFP Mobile phones, cartons of cigarettes and fresh mutton are all on sale inside a camp for Iraqi civilians displaced in the battle to recapture Mosul —if they have the money. In the Khazir camp, buyers trudge in the mud, skidding around in flimsy shoes and examining improvised market stalls on the ground between tents that shelter ...

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• 19 December

  Jordan police find suicide belts after deadly attack

    Amman / AFP Jordanian police said on Monday they found suicide belts and other explosives in the hideout of suspected IS group extremists behind an attack that killed 10 people, including a Canadian tourist. Another 34 people were wounded in Sunday’s shooting spree, including a second Canadian. Four gunmen were shot dead by police during the course of a ...

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• 19 December

  China rejects Trump claim ‘it stole US research drone’

  

    Beijing / AFP China on Monday rejected US President-elect Donald Trump’s claim that it had “stolen” an American research drone, as state media said his diplomatic inexperience could spark a confrontation between the two nations. Beijing’s seizure of the marine probe in international waters in the South China Sea raised already heightened tensions between the world’s two largest military powers. ...

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• 19 December

  Poland president in crisis talks on day four of sit-in

    Warsaw / AFP Polish President Andrzej Duda scrambled on Monday to defuse a political crisis as opposition lawmakers occupied parliament for a fourth day of anti-government protest. The governing rightwing Law and Justice party (PiS) appeared to offer some compromise on controversial proposals to restrict media access in parliament, but a row over a budget vote deemed “illegal” by the ...

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• 19 December

  China ends diplomatic freeze with Norway after Nobel row

    Oslo / AFP Norway and China announced on Monday the resumption of diplomatic relations, six years after Beijing froze ties with Oslo over the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident. The announcement means talks can now resume on a free trade pact between mineral-rich Norway and China, the world’s second-biggest economy. Diplomatic relations—and the trade talks—were ...

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• 19 December

  Myanmar faces pressure over Rohingya crisis

  

    Yangon / AFP Malaysia’s top diplomat turned the screws on Aung San Suu Kyi at emergency talks in Myanmar on Monday, warning that an army crackdown on the Rohingya minority could spark a regional migrant crisis. More than 27,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled northwestern Myanmar for Bangladesh since the start of November to escape a military counter-insurgency operation. Myanmar’s army ...

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• 19 December

  41 dead in Siberia after drinking toxic bath essence

    Moscow / AFP A Siberian city declared a state of emergency Monday after 41 people seeking cheap alcohol died from drinking bath essence containing methanol, a toxic substance used in anti-freeze. The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the deaths caused by drinking a liquid labelled as hawthorn-scented bath essence, and has detained several people. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry ...

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• 19 December

  Austria far-right Freedom Party signs Moscow pact

    Vienna / AFP Austria’s far-right Freedom Party said on Monday it has struck a “cooperation pact” with the party of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is courting populist movements across Europe in an anti-EU campaign. FPOe chief Heinz-Christian Strache signed the five-year agreement with senior United Russia officials during a trip to Russia, where he also renewed criticism of international ...

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