EU plan to check migrants needs inclusive approach

An ambitious European Union (EU) plan to curb migration from countries ranging from Lebanon to Nigeria could reduce pressure in Europe but would not fully eradicate the problem as some partners would need more engagement to resolve the growing phenomenon. The European Commission (EC) proposed to deploy 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) over the next five years to tackle flows ...

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Trump is driving in a race with no pit crew

  Jonathan Bernstein Hillary Clinton delivered a substantive and somewhat bipartisan speech on Monday about the massacre in Orlando, Florida. She offered a number of specific-sounding prescriptions and recalled George W. Bush’s respect for the Muslim community. Donald Trump? He started by bragging about himself and hinting that Barack Obama might be part of a plot against the US. Then ...

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Some of China’s zombie firms may finally die

Some of China’s zombie firms may finally die. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued a statement Monday that requires dormant companies that have not submitted annual reports or tax declarations for at least two years to begin business operations once again or file for liquidation. Of the zombie firms, dormant firms ...

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Clinton wins final 2016 primary as debate turns to terror fight

  Washington / AFP Hillary Clinton captured the mostly symbolic Democratic primary in the US capital, the final vote of the 2016 presidential primaries, as the race shifts to her showdown with Republican rival Donald Trump. Clinton won nearly 79 percent of the vote against 21 percent for Bernie Sanders, with nearly all votes counted, according to US networks. It ...

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Defying Beijing, Obama to meet Dalai Lama

  Beijing / AFP US President Barack Obama was to meet the Dalai Lama at the White House on Wednesday, a move condemned by China which portrays the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a dangerous separatist. Obama has met the Dalai Lama several times before and calls the monk “a good friend,” but the pair will—as usual—talk behind closed doors ...

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NATO demands Russia withdraw forces from Ukraine

  Brussels / AFP NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday demanded that Russia withdraw its forces and military hardware from Ukraine and halt its support for pro-Moscow separatists battling Kiev. “Russia needs to stop supporting the militants and withdraw its forces and military equipment from Ukrainian territory,” Stoltenberg said after a meeting of NATO defence ministers with their Ukrainian counterpart ...

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Documents shed light on CIA torture plan

  Washington / AFP CIA lawyers sought guarantees the US spy agency would never be prosecuted for torturing suspects after the September 11, 2001 attacks, while other staff warned the program was an impending “train wreck,” documents showed. The correspondence provides a new glimpse into tussles within the CIA as it implemented its notorious “enhanced interrogation” techniques aimed at thwarting ...

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N Korea may have 21 nukes or more, says US think tank

  Seoul/ AFP North Korea may have produced an additinal six or more nuclear weapons over the past 18 months, possibly bringing its total arsenal to more than 21 bombs, a US think tank said. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) based the estimates on the amounts of weapons-grade plutonium and highly enriched uranium the North is believed ...

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Pistorius walks on stumps before sentencing

  Pretoria / AFP A sobbing Oscar Pistorius walked hesitantly on his stumps around court Wednesday in a dramatic demonstration of his disability ahead of his sentencing for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Wearing shorts, the double-amputee removed his prosthetic limbs at the request of his lawyer Barry Roux as he made a final plea for Pistorius, who faces 15 ...

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Chinese spy ship entered Japan waters: Tokyo

  Tokyo / AFP A Chinese spy ship entered Japan’s territorial waters on Wednesday, Tokyo officials said, less than a week after another of the rival’s naval vessels sailed near islands at the centre of a sovereignty dispute. Concerns over China’s rising military presence in Asian waters have sparked concerns in Japan, which administers islands in the East China Sea ...

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