NewsAFP NewsGermany ends state funding for far-right NPD party
German lawmakers voted Thursday to cut off public financing for extremist parties, a measure targeting the far-right NPD after two failed attempts by parliament to ban it. Under German law, every political party receives funding from the state. The sum is partly determined by how well it is represented
NewsAFP NewsFrance outlines tough new anti-terrorism law
French President Emmanuel Macron's government on Thursday set out a tough new anti-terrorism law that has already faced protests from civil rights groups. The proposals presented to the first meeting of a reshuffled cabinet appointed Wednesday are designed to allow the lifting of the state of emergency
NewsReutersRussia's Lavrov says new U.S. sanctions harm ties with Washington
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his U.S. counterpart Rex Tillerson on Thursday that new sanctions imposed by Washington on Russia would damage relations between the two countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Actions of this kind, put the entire sphere of Russian-American
NewsAFP NewsOil barrels higher, but equities can't gain traction
Oil prices rebounded higher on Thursday, coming off 10-month lows, but equities failed to gain much traction. While prices of the major oil contracts gained more than 1.5 percent in trading, European stocks posted only minor gains. London's FTSE 100 meanwhile ended down 0.1 percent.
NewsAFP NewsNavalny ally jailed over Russian opposition protests
A Russian court on Thursday jailed the campaign chief of opposition leader Alexei Navalny for five days for organising unauthorised anti-corruption protests across Russia this month. Moscow's Simonovsky district court ordered that Leonid Volkov be detained in police cells for five days. The protests
NewsAFP NewsIndia's opposition pitch Dalit for president
Opposition parties Thursday picked a former parliament speaker from India's lowest Dalit caste as their presidential candidate, pitting her against the ruling party's hot favourite Ram Nath Kovind -- also from the marginalised community. Following hours-long negotiations led by the main Congress
NewsReutersAfghanistan to hold elections in July next year
Afghanistan will hold long-delayed parliamentary and district council elections on July 7, 2018, some three years after they were meant to take place, the country's Independent Election Commission said on Thursday. Najibullah Ahmadzai, chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), announced
NewsAFP NewsMigrant death truck 'mastermind' tight-lipped at trial
The alleged kingpin of a human trafficking gang accused of killing 71 migrants found in a truck in Austria refused to testify on the second day of his trial on Thursday. "I will only speak once I've heard what my associates have had to say," 30-year-old Afghan Samsoor L. told the court
NewsReutersAfter London fire, 600 tower blocks must be tested for flammable cladding
By William James LONDON (Reuters) - The government is urgently conducting safety checks on an estimated 600 high-rise buildings in England which have exterior cladding panels after at least 79 people died when fire consumed a London tower block last week, officials said on Thursday. Cladding, added
NewsReutersMourners remember U.S. student held prisoner by North Korea
By Ginny McCabe WYOMING, Ohio (Reuters) - Thousands of friends and family members gathered in suburban Cincinnati on Thursday to say goodbye to an American student who died days after returning to the United States in a coma following 17 months in captivity in North Korea. Otto Warmbier, 22, was arrested
NewsAFP NewsCanterbury: city of faith, students and Brexit anguish
Twelve months after British voters rejected the EU, university cities such as Canterbury are on the frontlines of a political realignment shaped in part by students' revulsion at Brexit. Britain's general election two weeks ago featured a surge in turnout by younger voters, who plumped by and
NewsReutersIraqi PM says Mosul "liberation" will be declared in a few days - Sumaria TV
The "liberation" of the city of Mosul from Islamic State will be announced in a few days, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday, according to Baghdad-based Sumaria TV. "It's a matter of a few days and we will announce the total liberation of Mosul," Abadi told
NewsAFP NewsMerkel waves flag in election battle against populists
Chancellor Angela Merkel's party on Thursday placed the German flag front and centre in its campaign advertising for September elections, in a bid to snatch back a claim on patriotism from anti-immigration populists. About 100 days before the polls, the Christian Democratic Union unveiled its campaign
NewsReutersTesla moves a step closer to building electric cars in China
(Reuters) - Tesla Inc took a step closer toward establishing an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in China with its announcement on Thursday that it is in exploratory talks with the Shanghai municipal government. Tesla has said it wants to build electric cars in China to avoid a 25-percent tariff
NewsAFP NewsIS destroys iconic Mosul minaret as Iraqi forces advance
Mosul's trademark leaning minaret was missing from its skyline for the first time in centuries Thursday after desperate jihadists blew it up as Iraqi forces advanced on an ancient mosque compound in the embattled northern city. Explosions on Wednesday evening levelled both the Nuri mosque where
NewsAFP NewsEU pledges 85 mn euros to Uganda for S.Sudan refugees
The EU pledged 85 million euros ($95 million) to Uganda on Thursday as UN chief Antonio Guterres urged donors to give 20 times that amount to help the country deal with nearly one million refugees from South Sudan. Guterres visited a refugee camp in Uganda's remote north where he met with South
NewsAFP NewsWashington's UN envoy urges action on Venezuela crisis
US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Thursday called for international action to address the crisis in Venezuela, after a US-backed proposal for regional mediation failed to win support at the Organization of American States. "The tragic situation in Venezuela calls out for action," Haley said in
NewsAFP NewsMain forest fires in Portugal under control
The main forest fires that have raged in Portugal since the weekend, killing more than 60 people, were brought under control on Thursday, the civil protection agency said, but grief and anger smouldered across the country. The giant blaze broke out initially at Pedrogao Grande and spread to adjacent
NewsAFP NewsFrance's Altice USA rallies in New York market debut
Altice USA shares rallied Thursday in their New York market debut after the telecom group controlled by French billionaire Patrick Drahi raised some $1.9 billion in an initial public offering. Altice USA priced some 63.9 million shares at $30 in the biggest telecom IPO since the dotcom collapse in 2000
NewsReutersDozens killed in Afghanistan as car bomb hits bank branch
By Mohammad Stanekzai LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded outside a bank in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern Afghan province of Helmand on Thursday, killing and wounding dozens of civilians and members of the security forces waiting to collect their pay, officials said. Omar
StyleAFP RelaxBubbling Chinese market centre-stage at world wine fest
With a middle-class increasingly thirsty for reds, whites and Italian bubbly, China is the hot ticket for wine traders looking for opportunities at this year's Vinexpo industry extravaganza. The world's most populous nation has for years been seen as an El Dorado for foreign wine-makers -- but
NewsAFP NewsSears Canada files for creditor protection
Sears Canada filed for court protection from creditors Thursday as the onetime retail giant seeks to adapt to a changed landscape and tougher online competition. The company's roots in the American mail order business Simpsons-Sears sprouted a chain of department stores across Canada that anchored
NewsAFP NewsOne dead as rain storms lash Germany, spark rail chaos
Heavy summer storms in northern Germany on Thursday killed a man when a tree crashed onto his car, while railway services were crippled and a tornado was seen near Hamburg. Gale-force winds, torrential rains and hail damaged rail tracks and power lines, forcing trains to be halted between Berlin, Hamburg
NewsReutersTurkey sends Qatar food and soldiers, discusses Gulf tensions with Saudi
By Daren Butler and Tulay Karadeniz ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey sent its first ship carrying food aid to Qatar and dispatched a small contingent of soldiers and armoured vehicles there on Thursday, while President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Saudi Arabia's leaders on calming tension in the
NewsReutersFormer owner of Hitler's birthplace fights expropriation in court
By Kirsti Knolle VIENNA (Reuters) - The expropriation of Adolf Hitler's birthplace by Austria's government is unconstitutional and is not the only way to stop it being an attraction for neo-Nazis, a lawyer for its former owner told a court on Thursday. Gerlinde Pommer-Angloher filed a legal
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