Category: World News

UPDATE 1-Nigeria sees return to strong growth under recovery plan

Nigeria expects the economy to climb out of recession and grow 2.19 percent this year, the budget ministry said on Tuesday, unveiling a reform plan that includes selling assets and hiking a luxury goods tax. The new Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017-2020 says gross domestic product is expected to grow an average of 4.62 percent a year until 2020, and hit 7 percent that year.

Israeli police question Hollywood mogul in Netanyahu probe

An Israeli police official says Israeli investigators questioned Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan in the U.S. last week as part of a corruption investigation into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The investigation, dubbed “File 1000,” reportedly concerns claims that Netanyahu improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, including Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer.

German court rejects injunction for Facebook in Syrian selfie case

A German court on Tuesday rejected a temporary injunction against Facebook in a case brought by a Syrian refugee who sued the social networking site for failing to remove faked posts linking him to crimes and militant attacks. The Wuerzburg district court said in a preliminary ruling that Facebook is neither a “perpetrator nor a participant” in what it said was “undisputable defamation” by Facebook users, but simply acting as a hosting provider which is not responsible for pre-emptively blocking offensive content under European law.

Hollywood film on couple who saved Jews premiering in Poland

Film director Niki Caro, left and Hollywood star Jessica Chastain, who plays the main character, gesture during a press conference prior to the gala screening of “The Zookeeper’s Wife” in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, March 7, 2017. less CORRECTS SLUG – Film director Niki Caro, left and Hollywood star Jessica Chastain, who plays the main character, gesture during a press conference prior to the gala screening of “The Zookeeper’s Wife” in … more Hollywood star Jessica Chastain, who plays the main character, speaks during a press conference prior to the gala screening of “The Zookeeper’s Wife” in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

New entrepreneurship curriculum to help Nigeria industrialize

A new United Nations Industrial Development Organization project will develop an entrepreneurship curriculum for senior secondary schools in Nigeria. The project, costing US$3m, part of which will be funded by the Government of Japan, will be implemented in the course of the next five years and will focus on supporting the education process in a total of nine states, namely: Anambra State, Bauchi State, Benue State, Cross River State, Delta State, Katsina State, Ogun State, Ondo State, and Oyo State.

On being bold for change

AMBITION: Bendigo Health chief medical officer and clinical support services executive director Dr Humsha Naidoo with interns outside the main entrance of the new Bendigo hospital. For Bendigo Health chief medical officer and executive director of clinical support services, Dr Humsha Naidoo, being bold means being proactive.

Vet singer plays Doctor Grenvil in Met Opera’s ‘Traviata’

Before the first plaintive strains of music are heard in Verdi’s “La Traviata,” a gentleman with long white hair and beard to match takes his seat next to a giant clock at the side of the Metropolitan Opera stage. He will remain in view through much of the opera, a mostly silent presence looming over Violetta as she enacts her tragic story.

RPT-COLUMN-Saudi cuts to lighter crude prices show shifting oil market: Russell

LAUNCESTON, Australia, March 7 A decision by Saudi Aramco to cut the price of its benchmark Arab Light crude to Asian refiners for April-delivery cargoes has prompted speculation that the world’s top oil exporter is chasing market share. There is always a risk in over-interpreting moves in Aramco’s official selling prices , and trying to fit them into a narrative that supports a particular view of the state of the market.

Turkish Stream, Akkuyu NPP high on agenda at Moskow-Ankara talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the implementation of projects on building the first Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu and the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline during the meeting in Moscow scheduled for March 10. “The agenda, in particular, includes the implementation of joint projects to build the first Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu and the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline,” RIA Novosti reported with reference to the Kremlin statement. In addition, the leaders of the countries “will discuss the entire complex of issues of Russian-Turkish relations with an emphasis on further restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties.”

SES and SPI/FILMBOX Sign Capacity Deal to Distribute HD Channels in Latin America

SES S.A. , the world-leading satellite operator, announced today that it has signed a multi-year capacity agreement with Group , a global media company that operates more than 30 TV channels, to support the company’s expansion in Latin America and distribute its HD channels in the region. SPI will extend its reach in Latin America thanks to the C-band capacity of NSS-806, which covers the entire region in one single beam and is capable of reaching about 90% of all pay TV subscribers in South America.

Six stories in the news today, March 7

A report from the Mental Health Commission says more money for child and youth services would boost Canada’s economy and patient health. The commission, which bills its findings as a tool to help provincial and territorial decision-makers, says more than 7.5 million Canadians face mental health issues, with a price tag of $50 billion a year – or nearly 14 hundred dollars a person.

Chinese buyers want Canadian real estate for educational reasons: study

The top reason why foreign buyers from China want to get into the Canadian housing market is education, not investment, according to data from a popular global real estate listings website. Figures released Tuesday by the Chinese website Juwai.com in partnership with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada found that schooling was the primary motivation for potential Chinese homebuyers who viewed property listings in major Canadian cities in 2016.

Avigdor Liberman Heads To Washington For Talks With Team Trump

Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in a new housing project in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, addressing a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Monday, expressed opposition to the efforts of some other coalition members to incorporate Judea and Samaria into Israel. Lieberman said Israeli annexation would mean “an immediate crisis” in US-Israeli relations, and was too risky even before considering the ramifications under worldwide law for extending Israeli sovereignty to include 2.7 million occupied Palestinians.

APC chieftain, Ojo Onukaba is dead

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has said that the death of Adinoyi-Ojo, who he described as a veteran journalist, as a big loss to the government and people of the state. He was the last Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria under President Obasanjo and was one of the 21 contestants of the governorship election in Kogi.

Leisure park revamp would be an “attack on the town centre”

THE leader of the Basingstok e Labour party has slammed his Conservative counterparts for going against the town centre by sup porting the proposed redevelopment of the leisure park. At the full council meeting on February 23, Cllr Paul Harvey said that he doesn’t understand what the council has against the town centre, and by supporting the proposed A 200 million redevelopment it would have a direct effect on jobs and footfall to places like the Top of The Town .

Israel makes it official: Cannabis is not a crime

Israel’s Cabinet decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis, or marijuana, at its weekly meeting on Sunday March 6, 2017 in a move hailed by politicians from across the spectrum. Israel’s Cabinet decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis, or marijuana, at its weekly meeting on Sunday March 6, 2017 in a move hailed by politicians from across the spectrum.

9 Koreans Nabbed on Philippines Sex Tour

Nine Korean men have been arrested in the Philippines in connection with a sex tour to the island of Cebu. They were arrested in a villa in the Central Visayas region on Saturday, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday.

Malaysian PM Hints at Severing Ties with N.Korea

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak hinted at the possibility of severing diplomatic ties with North Korea completely after it kicked out the North Korean ambassador over the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, Kim Jong-nam. Asked if it was possible that all ties with the rogue nation will be severed, Najib said Malaysia has to wait and see, according to the Star daily.

North Korea bans Malaysians from leaving

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his estranged older half-brother Kim Jong Nam, who was murdered at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport. Pyongyang says it will ban Malaysians from leaving North Korea amid diplomatic disputes over the death of leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother.

Jayalalithaa got best medical care: Tamil Nadu government

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday made public records of Apollo Hospitals here and AIIMS in New Delhi to show that Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa got the best medical treatment till she died. “Certain insinuations have been made that administration of wrong drugs over a period of time prior to hospitalisation had led to health complications for the late Chief Minister,” J. Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary in the Health and Family Welfare Department said in a statement here.

New travel ban order draws mix of reactions in Minnesota

Syrian immigrants Oter Alkhattab, left, and Zuhir Alsaman say the order delays the arrival of their son and his family in the U.S. For Mounaf Alsamman, a Syrian-born Twin Cities physician, President Donald Trump’s executive order Monday brought mixed news: His brother’s family, in the final stage of the resettlement process, faces another four months of waiting. But unlike the January version, this order doesn’t single out Syrian refugees for an indefinite suspension.

The World Bank and Partners Recognize Results-Driven Leadership in Development

Today, at the 2017 Global Leadership Forum , hosted by the World Bank Group, the first ever Jose Edgardo Campos Collaborative Leadership awards will be presented to five exceptional leaders from around the world. These leaders, from government, private sector and civil society in Bangladesh, Colombia, the Philippines, Tonga and Tunisia have helped their countries make significant progress in the fight to end poverty and boost shared prosperity.

UPDATE 1-Hebei to close last ‘zombie’ steel mills in next two years – governor

China’s biggest steelmaking province, Hebei, will close its eight remaining “zombie” steel mills in the next two years, Governor Zhang Qingwei said on Tuesday at a briefing on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliament meeting. The province in the north of the country near the capital Beijing is home to 104 mills that account for nearly a quarter of China’s total steel output and is home to some of its smoggiest cities.

Islamic State dislodged from last major city stronghold in Iraq

Elite Iraqi security forces dislodged Islamic State militants from the main government building in Mosul on Tuesday, their last major city stronghold in Iraq, an Iraqi spokesman said. A special Rapid Response team stormed the Nineveh governorate building and the surrounding government complex in an overnight operation, Lieutenant Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammadawi, a spokesman for the elite interior ministry unit, told Reuters.

Attacks, counter-attacks end high decibel campaign for UP polls

Varanasi: The high-voltage campaign for the last round of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh assembly polls ended on Monday evening with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his predecessor Mayawati targeting each other and claiming they would form the next government in the state. Prime Minister Modi, who has been camping in Varanasi along with most of his ministerial colleagues for the past three days, said Uttar Pradesh was in the “throes of anarchy” because the law and order had crumbled under the Samajwadi Party government led by Akhilesh Yadav.

US moves parts of controversial missile defence to SKorea

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of – U.S. missile launchers and other equipment needed to set up a controversial missile defence system have arrived in South Korea, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said Tuesday, a day after North Korea test-launched four ballistic missiles into the ocean near Japan. The plans to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, by the end of this year have angered not only North Korea, but also China and Russia, which see the system’s powerful radars as a security threat.