Emirati authorities arrested two brothers at the center of a government scandal in South Africa, offering a boost for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his anemic anticorruption drive, the Wall Street Journal reported. Police detained Atul and Rajesh Gupta in Dubai on an Interpol red...
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Morocco is establishing a regulatory agency that would oversee the country’s cannabis cultivation for medical use, the latest move by the deeply conservative North African kingdom to legalize the growth and sale of the narcotic plant, the Middle East Monitor reported. The National Agency for the...
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote Monday that could have removed him from power after a scandal over lockdown-violating gatherings that took place at government offices and the prime minister’s residence, Reuters reported. The vote came after lawmakers from Johnson’s Conservative party submitted...
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India sparked a diplomatic row with key Muslim countries after two ruling party representatives were accused of making Islamophobic comments and derogatory statements about the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, the Guardian reported Monday. The uproar began after Nupur Sharma, the national spokesperson of the governing Bharatiya Janata...
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The party of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador won four of six governorships in the country’s regional elections, a victory that further consolidates its power ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, the Associated Press reported Monday. Results showed that López Obrador’s National Regeneration Movement –...
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Kazakh voters overwhelmingly backed a series of constitutional changes aimed at reforming the country’s political system and curbing the privileges of founding leader Nursultan Nazarbayev after three decades of rule, Agence France-Presse reported. The referendum is part of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s “New Kazakhstan” initiative that would...
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Myanmar’s military junta will carry out its first executions in decades against two prominent pro-democracy figures after authorities upheld the death sentence of two individuals accused of terrorism, CNN reported. The military junta said that veteran democracy activist Ko Jimmy and former National League of Democracy...
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Turkey will now be known as “Türkiye” after the United Nations approved the country’s request to formally change its name as part of a rebranding campaign launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year, Fox News reported. Türkiye – pronounced “tur-key-YAY” – has been the country’s...
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Yemen’s warring parties agreed Thursday to renew a nationwide ceasefire for another two months, a move that raises hope for a potential peace in a country plagued by eight years of civil war, the Associated Press reported. The United Nations confirmed that Yemen’s internationally-recognized government and...
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British Queen Elizabeth II and her royal family saluted troops and citizens outside the balcony of Buckingham Palace Thursday, as the monarch celebrated 70 years on the throne, an event known as the Platinum Jubilee, the New York Times reported. The queen was joined by her...
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Canada will decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs – including cocaine – in the province of British Columbia, in an effort to reduce deaths from overdoses, which have risen in the past five years, NPR reported. The experimental policy will only apply to the...
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The Chinese military conducted a “combat readiness patrol” around Taiwan’s sea and airspace this week, saying it was “a necessary action” against what it described as “US-Taiwan collusion,” Al Jazeera reported Wednesday. Taiwanese officials said this week that 30 Chinese planes, mainly fighter jets, entered the...
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The Spanish government approved a bill that would overhaul the way companies handle customer service calls and eliminate long waiting times for customers, the Associated Press reported. Under the bill, companies will be ordered to reduce long hold periods on customer service calls –instead, they will...
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Japan is preparing to reopen to foreign tourists this month, even as Hollywood celebrities and South Korean entertainers have been able to enter the country amid strict border closures because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Washington Post reported. Over the past weeks, foreign actors and K-pop...
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will introduce a new bill that would put a freeze on buying, selling or importing handguns, a move aimed to curb gun violence in Canada following recent mass shootings in the United States, CBS News reported Tuesday. Trudeau’s proposed legislation will...
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Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a free-trade agreement Tuesday, a landmark deal that will boost business ties and comes less than two years after both nations normalized relations in a US-brokered deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agreement will cover 96 percent of...
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Hundreds of Congolese protesters took to the streets of the capital to protest against Rwanda this week, blaming the neighboring country for allegedly supporting a notorious rebel group responsible for a recent uptick in violence in eastern Congo, Radio France Internationale reported Tuesday. Demonstrators called for...
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Two anti-establishment candidates are heading for a runoff following this weekend’s presidential election, one that dealt a major blow to Colombia’s political class, Axios reported. Leftist Senator Gustavo Petro secured more than 40 percent of the vote, while his right-wing populist rival Rodolfo Hernandez came in...
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Ten Pacific island nations dismissed Chinese proposals for a wide-ranging regional security pact Monday, amid concerns over Beijing’s increasing influence in the region and worry about getting caught in a geopolitical tussle between the West and China, Channel News Asia reported. Pacific leaders and Chinese Foreign...
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Sudan’s army chief Abdel-Fattah Burhan this week lifted a state of emergency that was imposed after last year’s military coup, a move aimed at quelling the months-long mass protests that have gripped the country, the Middle East Eye reported. Burhan’s decision follows recommendations by senior military...
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