Day: December 29, 2018

New Year’s Eve party in Times Square to cheer for press freedom

NEW YORK  – Reporters will be the guests of honor at the New Year’s Eve party in New York’s Times Square on Monday, in what organizers said was a celebration of press freedom after an unusually deadly year for journalists at U.S. news outlets. Two attacks in particular […]

Government doubles export incentives for onion farmers to 10 percent

NEW DELHI  – The Indian government on Friday doubled export incentives for onion farmers to 10 percent, following steep drops in recent weeks in the prices for onions, a staple food in India. The move will result in better prices for onions in the domestic market, the government […]

Modi’s clampdown on e-commerce in India may not win back votes of small retailers

NEW DELHI  – India’s new curbs on e-commerce companies may not be enough to win over small store owners and traders in next year’s general election, with the key voting bloc still seething over what it sees as broken promises by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From Feb. 1, […]

Supreme Court lays low after Kavanaugh confirmation

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court began its term with the tumultuous confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, followed by a studied avoidance of drama on the high court bench — especially anything that would divide the five conservatives and four liberals. The justices have been unusually solicitous of each […]

UK honors cave rescue divers, Twiggy, Monty Python’s Palin

LONDON  — British divers who rescued young soccer players trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand are among those being recognized in Britain’s New Year’s Honors List, along with 1960s model Twiggy and Monty Python star Michael Palin. Twiggy, a model who shot to stardom during the Beatles […]

Japan shows video of alleged radar lock-on by SKorea warship

TOKYO  — Japan released video footage Friday it said proved a South Korean warship locked its fire-control radar onto a Japanese warplane off the northeastern coast in the latest move of an escalating row between the Asian neighbors. The Defense Ministry’s just over 13-minute footage, filmed from the […]

Lawyer: McCarrick repeatedly touched youth during confession

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s sexual abuse case against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has expanded significantly after a man testified that the retired American archbishop sexually abused him for years starting when he was 11, including during confession. James Grein testified Thursday in New York before the judicial vicar […]

China customs gives green light for US rice imports

China’s customs administration announced Friday it had approved US rice imports, a move that comes during a 90-day tariff truce between the two countries which are engaged in a bruising trade war. US rice that meets inspection and quarantine requirements will be allowed to enter the country, according […]

600,000 deployed for Bangladesh vote marred by violence

Bangladesh tightened security Saturday for an election expected to see Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina win a record fourth term but dominated by opposition claims that they have been shackled by a government clampdown. Authorities have deployed around 600,000 police, army and other security forces ahead of Sunday’s vote, […]

Egypt kills 40 ‘terrorists’ in crackdown after Giza attack

Egyptian police killed 40 alleged “terrorists” in a crackdown on Saturday after a roadside bomb hit a tour bus claiming the lives of three Vietnamese holidaymakers and an Egyptian guide. The suspects were killed in separate raids in Giza governorate, home to Egypt’s famed pyramids and the scene […]

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