International

Canada to ban vaping ads aimed at youth

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Concerned by a sudden rise in youth vaping, Canada’s health minister on Thursday announced a ban on advertising for vaping products targeting young people. Marketing of the products would be allowed only in specialty shops, businesses and websites accessible by adults, and banned elsewhere, including convenience stores and billboards. Ottawa also proposed mandatory health warnings on vaping product packaging, which would have to be made childproof, and limiting their nicotine content. […]

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Massive debt wave could crash on developing countries, World Bank warns

  by Heather SCOTT Agence France Presse A wave of debt in emerging and developing nations has grown faster and larger than in any period of the last five decades and could end with another crisis, the World Bank warned Thursday. And if the wave breaks, it could be more damaging since it would engulf private companies in addition to governments, at a time when economic growth is sluggish, according to a new report that […]

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Ukraine says Trump impeachment ‘internal US issue’

  KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine on Thursday brushed off the impeachment of Donald Trump an a US “internal issue”, despite the process being triggered by a telephone conversation between the American leader and his Ukrainian counterpart. Trump was impeached on Wednesday by the House of Representatives for abuse of power over the July conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Ukraine does not interfere in the internal affairs of any state,” Zelensky’s spokeswoman Yuliya Mendel told […]

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Hong Kong police freeze HK$70 million in protest fund

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong police on Thursday said they had frozen HK$70 million ($10 million) from a major fund for donations to help pro-democracy protesters, and arrested its four members for money laundering. Police said their investigation focused on Spark Alliance, a non-profit online platform formed in 2016 that collects donations to provide support to political critics of the city’s pro-Beijing authorities. It is one of two crowd-sourced funding platforms that have […]

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Russian President Putin says US President Trump’s impeachment based on ‘made-up grounds’

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that the impeachment of Donald Trump was based on “made-up” grounds, adding he did not believe it marked the end of the US president. “It still needs to go through the Senate, where the Republicans have a majority,” Putin said after the House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump for abuse of power. “And it is hardly likely that they are going to push […]

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Impeached Trump says Democrats ‘consumed with hatred’

BATTLE CREEK, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump railed against a Democratic Party “consumed with hatred” after he was impeached Wednesday for abuse of power and obstructing Congress. “While we’re creating jobs and fighting for Michigan, the radical Left in Congress is consumed with envy and hatred and rage, you see what’s going on,” the Republican leader seethed at campaign rally in the state. “These people are crazy.” Trump said the Democratic Party, […]

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UPDATED: US House impeaches President Trump for abuse of power

  by Michael Mathes with Sebastian Smith in Battle Creek, Michigan Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump was impeached for abuse of power in a historic vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, setting up a Senate trial on removing him from office after three turbulent years. By a 230 to 197 vote in the Democratic-majority House, the 45th US president became just the third occupant of the White […]

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Impeachment vote set for Wednesday as Trump rages

by Paul Handley and Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An enraged US President Donald Trump said he was being subjected to an “attempted coup” and a witch trial as Democrats set a historic impeachment vote for Wednesday. In an extraordinarily angry six-page letter, Trump on Tuesday told Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the Democratic-led House of Representatives, that “history will judge you harshly.” Referring to a famous miscarriage of justice and […]

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California power firm to pay $1.7 bn over wildfires

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A California energy supplier has reached a nearly $1.7 billion settlement with regulators for its role in causing devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed more than 100 people in total. Faulty Pacific Gas and Electric power lines were blamed for sparking last year’s so-called Camp Fire in northern California, the deadliest in the state’s modern history. Under the draft deal published Tuesday, PG&E shareholders will foot […]

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Reuters reporters strike in France

PARIS, France (AFP) — Journalists working for the Reuters news agency in France went on strike on Tuesday, six months after more than half the news agency’s French service was laid off. The walkout, backed by “a huge majority” of reporters, was sparked by six people on its photo desk being told by telephone that they were also to be sacked, staff said. They feared the “incomprehensible” wave of cuts would hit the quality of […]

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Thousands sign Hiroshima petition to save A-bomb buildings

TOKYO Japan (AFP) — Thousands of people have signed an online petition against the planned demolition of two early 20th-century buildings that remained intact after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima devastated the Japanese city. A local government official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday they had received the petition signed by 12,000 citizens calling for the preservation of the buildings that stand 2.7 kilometres (2 miles) from the 1945 blast. The three-storey red-brick buildings are part […]

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Trump watching North Korea ‘closely’ as talks deadline nears

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Monday he’d be “disappointed” if North Korea had something “in the works” as a year-end ultimatum from Pyongyang about the fate of their nuclear talks approaches. The nuclear-armed North has issued increasingly strident declarations in recent weeks, even promising an ominous holiday “gift” if Washington does not come up with some concessions. The top US envoy to the negotiations with North Korea, Stephen Biegun, said […]

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