December, 2016

• 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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• 19 December

  Duterte executions plan is barbaric: Critics

  

    Manila / AFP Philippine Catholic leaders and rights groups on Monday condemned as “barbaric” President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to restore the death penalty and execute “five or six” criminals daily. Duterte, 71, has made reviving the death penalty in the mainly Catholic nation his top legislative priority as part of a brutal war on crime that has killed 5,300 people. ...

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• 19 December

  Apple appeals landmark tax ruling, says EU ‘ignored law’

  

    Brussels / AFP Apple on Monday launched a legal challenge against a landmark EU decision that the tech giant pay billions in back-taxes to Ireland, claiming the EU has ignored the law. The European Commission, the EU executive arm, in August ordered iPhone maker Apple to reimburse a record 13 billion euros ($14 billion) in unpaid taxes in Ireland. ...

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• 19 December

  Linde, Praxair to reveal $65 billion merger

  

    Frankfurt am Main / AFP German industrial gases maker Linde and US competitor Praxair are set to announce a $65-billion merger to create a global leader in the sector in the coming days, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Linde and Praxair’s previous attempt at a tie-up failed in September, but they are now expected to reveal preliminary merger terms ...

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