Category: World News

A promotional flyer for WHAM!’s Beijing concert in 1985. File photo

But now, prompted by the death of George Michael to recall that time, I can see that the concert I attended was more than just a musical first, it was a symbol of the changes that were setting China on the road to the country it is today. ) had started the ball rolling in the late 1970s by opening the country to foreign trade and bringing in the idea of entrepreneurism, and the period from late 1984 to 1986 was an interesting time to be in the Chinese capital as it felt as if Deng’s ideas had started to really gather pace.

Latrobe comes alive for Christmas fun

An estimated 2000 people still turned out in poor weather conditions for the Lions Christmas Parade at Latrobe on Saturday. Coordinator Kevin Moulden said despite terrible weather conditions, they still had 32 float entries, with an estimated 2000 people turning out to witness the event, which gave the kids the chance to see Santa.

Demons down Black Caps

OVER: Latrobe’s Jacob Webb bowls to Ulverstone batsman Andrew Vantatenhove in the Demons five wicket win over the Black Caps on Saturday. Picture: Paul Scambler.

Post Office strike will affect local town store

Talks between the company and the Communication Workers Union have broken down and five days of industrial action will begin on Monday. Chorley’s Cleveland Street site is the only remaining ‘Crown’ post office which will be affected by the proposed stoppages.

The last dance at Amona

Activists sing and play music at a home in the illegal outpost of Amona in the West Bank, on December 17, 2016. Full of people, full of cars, full of tension and singing and dancing and hope that the planned evacuation of the illegally-built settlement won’t take place.

Indonesian air force plane crashes in Papua killing 13: official

An Indonesian air force transport plane has crashed into a mountain during a training exercise in the remote region of Papua, killing all 13 people on board, a search and rescue agency official said. The Hercules C130 plane had taken off from the city of Timika before crashing near its destination almost 200 kilometres away in Wamena, at around 6:15am , said Ivan Ahmad Riski Titus, operational director of Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency.

Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro postpones currency move after chaos, protests

Caracas: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has suspended the elimination of the country’s largest denomination bill, which had sparked cash shortages and nationwide unrest, saying the measure would be postponed until early January. The surprise pulling of the 100-bolivar note from circulation this week – before new larger bills were available – led to vast lines at banks, looting at scores of shops, anti-government protests and at least one death.

.com | Mpisanes lose wheels again

The Mpisanes take a picture with the two Rolls-Royces they bought each other during their year-end party at their house in La Lucia, north of Durban. Picture: Khaya Ngwenya Normally at this time of year, Durban’s blingest couple, tenderpreneurs Shauwn and S’bu Mpisane, are busy putting the finishing touches on plans for their New Year’s Eve party, one of the highlights on the city’s social calendar for the well-heeled and politically connected.

Christmas Fantasia at St Peter’s Cathedral in Hamilton

What: Christmas Fantasia Who: Hamilton Civic Choir When: Saturday, December 17 Where: St. Peter’s Cathedral Works: Christmas music Conductor: Timothy Carpenter Soloists: Jonathan Eyers, bass; Yotam Levy, cello; Philip Smith, organ Reviewer: Sam Edwards Oh, the excitement. Imagine, a week before Christmas after weeks of tinsel-tune nightmares, to be present at an event where participatory carol singing was so enthusiastic that one could utter at full voice and not be heard.

Car bomb kills 13 Turkish soldiers on bus; 7 suspects held

A suicide car bomber set off an explosion Saturday that demolished a public bus transporting off-duty soldiers in Turkey’s central province of Kayseri, killing 13 troops and wounding 56 other people, authorities said. Saturday’s blast comes a week after a car bomb attack claimed by Kurdish militants killed 44 people, mainly riot police, and wounded over 150 others near a soccer stadium in Istanbul.

A rare view from inside South Sudan’s most-feared prison

More than 30 political detainees in South Sudan’s most notorious prison face torture, starvation or death, according to a Danish man detained alongside them for over two months before being released in late November. Henrik Tobiesen, a businessman and former United Nations de-mining worker who had lived in South Sudan for 11 years, told The Associated Press he was locked up for 67 days starting Sept.

Deal reached that could restart Aleppo evacuation

This image released by Aleppo 24, shows residents of eastern Aleppo arriving in western rural Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, as part of an evacuation deal. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside.

Dr Al Kawari meets Albania PM; discusses ties

Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama met yesterday with Cultural Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and the State of Qatar’s candidate to the Post of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari. During the meeting, they talked in detail about the Qatari candidate’s vision for the advancement of Unesco and the most important challenges facing the organisation.

EU’s Tusk, Poland’s PM differ on nation’s democracy

Two days of anti-government protests have exposed clashing views on the shape of Poland’s democracy, with a European Union leader and the protesters saying it is threatened by the government, and the prime minister insisting the threat is coming from the opposition’s actions. European Council President Donald Tusk and Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo made separate comments Saturday on the rising political tension between Poland’s conservative government and the pro-EU opposition.

Nawaz Sharif Fast Facts

April 18, 1993 – Sharif’s government is dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan after charges of corruption and mismanagement are raised. Sharif’s family-owned business grew tremendously during his tenure in office, causing suspicion of corruption.

Hunting for the real wilderpeople on Takaka Hill

It’s one of those summer days where the sun is so high in the sky you have to crouch down really low, and mash your face against the glass, craning your neck to see it out the car windows. The heat, the hill, the innumerable bends, your stomach rolls with every jolt.

UK faces strike-hit Christmas by post, train and air

The United Kingdom faces a Christmas of discontent as labour unions threaten to disrupt airports, rail services and mail deliveries. The Unite union and aviation services company Swissport announced negotiation plans Saturday intended to avert a Dec. 23 walkout by 1,500 baggage handlers, check-in staff and other workers at 18 regional airports from Belfast to Bournemouth.

Reversing Cuba policy seen as a punch in the gut to Latin America

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, left, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, right, and Bolivia’s President Evo Morales acknowledge supporters during a welcome ceremony for presidents attending an extraordinary meeting in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Thursday , July 4, 2013. Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, left, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, center, and Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez gesture during the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas Presidential summit with Authorities of Indigenous and African-descent in Otavalo, Ecuador, Friday, June 25, 2010.

Trump’s ambassador pick could drastically alter 2 of the…

President-elect Donald Trump tapped bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman to serve as the US ambassador to Israel on Thursday, raising questions about how Friedman’s far-right views will upend Washington’s longstanding approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, is a fierce opponent of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine that would create two independent states on either side of the Jordan river.

REPLAY: B.C. this week in video

Recreational marijuana could be sold in storefronts to Canadians 18 and older if the federal government materializes recommendations made by a task force that was set to explore the legalization of the drug. See More > It’s been almost a week since a large-scale apartment fire left a dozen Langley residents homeless.

Amona residents partying as eviction looms

Amona – Rumors of a police led-evacuation swirled Saturday night in the hilltop outpost of Amona, which is slated for evacuation by December 25. Yet, as hundreds of supporters, mostly teenagers, descended upon the outpost they did not appear worried. On Saturday night the outpost actually took on a party-like atmosphere as teenagers danced in the mud to techno-rave melodies interlaced with religious proverbs.

Tax tribunal rejects Virbhadra Singh’s appeal; HP CM alleges political vendetta

In a setback to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has dismissed the appeal filed by him against the order of the Income Tax department, which had sought fresh assessment of his tax returns related to the financial year of 2009-10 to 2011-12. The veteran Congress leader termed the development as “politically motivated” and said that he would contest the orders and file an appeal in the High Court or in the Supreme court, if the need arose.

Demonetization will meet fate of Congress’ ‘Nasbandi’: Lalu Prasad Yadav

RJD president Lalu Prasad on Saturday said demonetization would meet the fate of ‘Nasbandi’ of the Congress rule and announced protest across Bihar on December 28. During a day-long meeting of RJD MPs, ministers, legislators and office-bearers, Prasad and other leaders of the party highlighted people’s woes following the scrapping of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. Addressing the RJD leaders, Prasad criticised the move and said, “It will meet the fate of ‘nasbandi’ during the Congress rule in the past.”

Ohio school taps U of Louisville official as new president

The University of Cincinnati on Saturday named as its 30th president: a former longtime professor who’s been serving as acting president at the University of Louisville. The Ohio school’s board of trustees met in special session to approve Neville Pinto to lead the public university of more than 44,300 students.

BP Gains Abu Dhabi Oil Field Stake for $2.2 Billion in Stock

BP Plc cemented its 77-year relationship with Abu Dhabi by swapping about $2.2 billion of its own shares for a stake in one of the emirate’s largest onshore oil concessions. The U.K.’s second-biggest oil group will issue new ordinary shares to pay for 10 percent of the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Ltd., giving the emirate a 2 percent holding in BP, the London-based company said Saturday in a statement.

Philippines’ Duterte to US over aid issue: ‘Bye-bye America’

President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Saturday to terminate a pact that allows U.S. troops to visit the Philippines, saying “bye-bye America” as he reacted with rage to what he thought was a U.S. decision to scrap a major aid package over human rights concerns. A U.S. government aid agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, said earlier in the week that its board deferred a vote on a renewal of the development assistance package for the Philippines “subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties.”