OSLO – Hugged by mountains and perched on a stunning coastline of fjords, Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, has picture-postcard views. As one of the centres of Norway’s booming oil and gas industries, it is also a very wealthy place. Yet there are few displays of ostentatious spending – there are no supercars with tinted windows,…
PARIS – French President Francois Hollande has ordered PM Manuel Valls to form a new government after two senior ministers criticised their austerity policies. After Mr Valls announced the cabinet’s resignation, Mr Hollande immediately asked him to set up a new one. Economy minister Arnaud Montebourg and education minister Benoit Hamon are expected to lose…
KERALA – Authorities in the southern Indian state of Kerala have outlined plans to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol to tackle the state’s drink problem. The first phase of the ban would see more than 700 bars and as well as some shops selling alcohol shut down, with more alcohol-free days introduced. The…
WEST AFRICA: With more than 1,300 reported deaths from Ebola in West Africa, the virus continues to be an urgent health crisis, but it is also having a devastating impact on the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. “The economy has been deflated by 30% because of Ebola,” Sierra Leone’s Agriculture Minister Joseph Sam…
LONDON – The US, UK and France have expressed abhorrence at the apparent beheading of American journalist James Foley by an Islamic State (IS) militant. The jihadist group released a video of Foley, missing in Syria since 2012, saying his killing was revenge for US air strikes on its fighters in Iraq. France said, if…
TEL AVIV – Israel’s military says it has carried out air strikes in the Gaza Strip in response to fresh rocket fire, hours before a ceasefire was set to expire. “Terror targets” were hit after three rockets were fired towards the towns of Beersheba and Netivot, officials said. A five-day ceasefire was extended for 24…
FERGUSON – The US state of Missouri is sending the National Guard to the town of Ferguson as protests escalate over the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager. Governor Jay Nixon signed an order to “help restore peace and order”. An independent autopsy has found Michael Brown, 18, was shot by a Ferguson police…
BEIJING – Two passengers with HIV are suing a budget Chinese airline for refusing to let them board a plane. Local media reports say the two men and a friend – who does not have HIV – were prevented from boarding a Spring Airlines plane at Shenyang airport. The three of them are accusing the…
RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil is in mourning after the death of presidential candidate Eduardo Campos, 49, who was killed in a plane crash on Wednesday. President Dilma Rousseff declared three days of mourning and halted all campaign activities for the presidential elections on 5 October. Mr Campos, of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), had…
WASHINGTON DC – President Barack Obama has led tributes to US actor and comedian Robin Williams, who has been found dead, aged 63, in an apparent suicide. Marin County Police in California said Williams was pronounced dead at his home after officials responded to an emergency call around noon local time. Williams was famous for…
