BEIJING – China has announced a military budget of 1.11 trillion yuan ($175bn; £126bn) for the coming year. The figure, an 8% increase on last year, was announced as the annual meeting of parliament got under way in Beijing. Prime Minister Li Keqiang also set a target of 6.5% growth for the economy. The National…
GERMANY – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping for another term after more than a decade in power, but she’ll have to get past one major obstacle: a sneaker-wearing 28-year-old named Kevin Kuehnert. Kuehnert is the millennial behind the NoGroKo campaign, short for No Grand Coalition, which has turned Germany’s normally staid politics upside down….
The International Committee of the Red Cross said 21 staff members have been dismissed or resigned for “paying for sexual services” since 2015. An additional two staff members suspected of sexual misconduct didn’t have their contracts renewed, Yves Daccord, the ICRC’s director-general, said in a statement Friday. “This behavior is a betrayal of the people…
AUCKLAND – A former regional newspaper editor, Michael McCormack, has been chosen as Australia’s new deputy prime minister. He replaces Barnaby Joyce as leader of the Nationals, the governing coalition’s junior partner. Mr Joyce resigned on Friday over his affair with a former staffer, after holding the post for two years. Mr McCormack, a relatively…
WASHINGTON – An adult film star who has been embroiled in allegations of an affair with President Donald Trump is free to tell her story, her manager has said. Stormy Daniels is no longer bound by a non-disclosure contract after Mr Trump’s lawyer admitted he paid her, manager Gina Rodriguez says. Mr Trump’s personal lawyer…
KARACHI – At least 40 people have been tested HIV positive in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where an unqualified doctor had allegedly used a single syringe to treat all of his patients in the area, according to local media reports. The news broke on Tuesday, months after the victims, including children, were diagnosed…
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would “love” to be questioned under oath by Russia collusion prosecutor Robert Mueller, saying it could happen in the coming weeks. Trump confirmed that his lawyers are in discussion with Mueller, who is leading the investigation into collusion between the US president’s campaign and Russia…
In a vote in the early Wednesday morning hours, the Senate approved the final version of the first overhaul of the US tax code in more than 30 years, handing President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans their most significant legislative victory of 2017. The bill passed along party lines, 51-48 with the final result announced…
MICHAEL Kors Holdings Limited, Ralph Lauren Corp and other fashion brands are locked in a high-stakes contest this Christmas. But the winner won’t be the company that sells the most – it’ll be the one that winds up with the least amount of unwanted merchandise. After years of struggling to manage their inventory, brands are…
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia will allow women to attend sports events in stadiums for the first time from next year, officials say. Families will be able to enter the stadiums in three major cities – Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. It is another move towards giving more freedom to Saudi women, who face strict gender segregation…
