Top German court rejects new challenge to EU-Canada pact

  BERLIN / AP Germany’s supreme court has dismissed another challenge to a European Union-Canada trade deal that was signed late last year following tortuous negotiations. The Federal Constitutional Court in October rejected calls from opponents of the trade deal, known as CETA, to issue an injunction forcing the German government to withhold its approval of the pact. It did, ...

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US military: November fight with Taliban killed 33 civilians

  KABUL / AP The US military in Afghanistan said on Thursday that its investigation into a November firefight with the Taliban in northern Kunduz province has shown that 33 civilians died in the raid during which US troops fired on Afghan homes. The probe followed claims that civilian deaths resulted from airstrikes called in to support Afghan and US ...

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Ex-UN chief hints at S Korea presidential bid

  SEOUL / AP Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday he’ll soon announce whether to run for South Korea’s top job as he returned home and strongly hinted at his political ambitions before hundreds of cheering supporters. Ban’s return will likely heat up local politics as he’s considered as the only major conservative contender in a possible early ...

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Hong Kong’s No 2 official resigns, plans leadership move

  HONG KONG / AP Hong Kong’s No 2 government official said on Thursday that she was resigning to prepare for a leadership bid for the southern Chinese city’s top job. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said she tendered her resignation to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and asked him to submit it to Beijing for approval. Lam, 59, is the third ...

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A boxer with a ‘sense of patriotism’

  Havana / DPA When Cuban boxer Julio Cesar de la Cruz bit into his gold medal as he celebrated his triumph at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics earlier this year, Namibia Flores watched enviously on television at home in Cuba. Even though Cuba is a boxing powerhouse and has won more Olympic gold medals than any other country, competitive ...

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‘A mouthpiece for black people in Europe’

  Berlin / DPA Isaiah Lopaz lets his photos speaks for themselves. “And when do you go back?” reads one of the plain white T-shirts the 36-year-old American wears for his portrait series. “Where do you really come from?” is another. It’s a question the Afro-American hears all the time in his everyday life in his adopted home city of ...

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Bumpy recovery road as India cuts purchases of soaps to cars

  Bloomberg India’s economy is set for a choppy recovery from the world’s most sweeping currency policy change in decades. Inflation continued to slow in December as the cash ban squelched demand while a volatile factory output gauge rose in November, according to Bloomberg surveys before data due at 5:30 pm in New Delhi on Thursday. Companies are bracing for ...

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China’s big-city renters feel 20% inflation not headline 2%

  Bloomberg Project manager Yuan Fang says she’s cutting spending and working overtime after a 20 percent surge in the cost of both her Beijing room rent and her favorite Japanese lunch boxes. Civil servant Neo Zhu, who bought an apartment in the eastern city of Hangzhou 10 years ago, feels costs of everything from gas to food are stable. ...

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Baby food maker Bellamy’s ousts top executives

  Bloomberg Bellamy’s Australia Ltd., the infant formula maker whose market value ballooned in 2015 amid surging Chinese sales, ousted its two top executives after forecasting plunging profits. The stock fell the most on record in Sydney. Bellamy’s has racked up stockpiles of unsold infant formula and excess ingredients after making overambitious revenue estimates, the Launceston, Tasmania-based company said in ...

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China auto market looks for weaker 2017 outlook

  AP China’s auto market had a bumper year in 2016 as sales grew by 15 percent, with drivers rushing to buy cars before a tax break expired at the end of the year. The data released on Thursday showed that automakers sold 24.4 million cars, minivans and sport-utility vehicles in China. Booming sales, driven by strong demand for SUVs, ...

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