World
Trump accuses Schiff of leaking intelligence about Russia to hurt Sanders
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Representative Adam Schiff of leaking classified information on Russian interference in the 2020 U.S. election to hurt Democratic presidential front-runner Bernie Sanders. Speaking to reporters as...
Residents stranded after Cyclone Wasi floods rivers in Samoa
Some residents on the Samoan island of Savai’i are stranded due to rivers flooded by the weekend’s Cyclone Wasi. Although there were no casualties or major building damage reported due to the cyclone, some rivers and roads remained flooded. The Samoa Observer reported two rivers on Savai’i, Mali’oli’o River and Sasina Fiord rose to dangerously high levels...
Democratic rivals aim to slow Sanders’ momentum after his big win in Nevada
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – Democratic presidential contenders fanned out across the United States on Sunday to try to blunt Bernie Sanders’ momentum after his dominant victory in Nevada solidified his front-runner status ahead of 15 key nominating contests in the next 10 days. Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont and self-avowed democratic socialist, rode...
Marape seeks more PNG numbers in NZ seasonal work scheme
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister says he will work to enable more young people from his country to come to New Zealand for seasonal work. James Marape made the comment yesterday at T&G apple orchard in the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand, where he is on a four-day state visit. A number of Papua New...
Samoa qualify for World Rugby Under 20 Trophy
Samoa has qualified for the World Rugby Under 20 Trophy after thrashing Tonga 36-0 in the Oceania qualifier at Apia Park. The home side ran in five unanswered tries in wet conditions and managed to keep the kingdom scoreless despite being reduced to 13 players for a brief period in the second half. Samoa first...
Concern over coronavirus spread as cases jump in South Korea, Italy and Iran
SEOUL/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – International concern about the spread of coronavirus outside China grew on Sunday with sharp rises in infections in South Korea, Italy and Iran. The government in Seoul put the country on high alert after the number of infections surged over 600 with six deaths. A focal point was a church in the...
G20 sees need to coordinate coronavirus response as IMF trims growth forecasts
RIYADH (Reuters) – The world’s top economies called on Saturday for a coordinated response to the coronavirus outbreak, which the IMF predicted would lower China’s growth this year to 5.6% and shave 0.1 percentage points from global growth. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva presented the outlook to central bankers and finance ministers from...
The ECB wants to talk to you about inflation. But will it listen?
FRANKFURT/RIYADH (Reuters) – For many people, the language of European Central Bank policymakers is so impenetrable, it could be beamed from another planet. Now, however, the ECB experts are in for a dose of real life as they meet audiences ranging from students to clergy this year to get their views on inflation and feedback...
Wells Fargo to pay $3 billion to U.S., admits pressuring workers in fake-accounts scandal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) has agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve criminal and civil probes into fraudulent sales practices and has admitted to pressuring employees in a fake-accounts scandal, U.S. officials said on Friday, wrapping up one of the last major investigations looming over the bank. Wells Fargo will pay...
Buffett defends Berkshire stock push, reassures on future as profit smashes record
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Warren Buffett on Saturday forcefully defended Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s (BRKa.N) decision to invest heavily in stocks of companies such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) as he labors through a four-year drought since his last major acquisition of a company. Buffett, 89, also used his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders to assure they...
Trump plans to raise issue of religious freedom with Indian PM Modi: official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will raise the issue of religious freedom in India during his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week, a senior administration official said, a sensitive subject for the Indian government. Modi’s government has faced large scale-protests at home and criticism abroad for enacting a citizenship law that...
23rd February
Taliban, Afghan forces clash on first day of violence reduction period
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces clashed in parts of Afghanistan on Saturday, a day after a week-long “reduction in violence” was announced, but the incidents did not spark immediate alarm on either side. If the violence reduction period is observed successfully, the United States and the Taliban will sign an agreement...
The ECB wants to talk to you about inflation. But will it listen?
FRANKFURT/RIYADH (Reuters) – For many people, the language of European Central Bank policymakers is so impenetrable, it could be beamed from another planet. Now, however, the ECB experts are in for a dose of real life as they meet audiences ranging from students to clergy this year to get their views on inflation and feedback...
Twitter suspends group of pro-Bloomberg accounts over ‘platform manipulation’
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) on Friday said it had started suspending and restricting dozens of accounts posting content promoting U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. “We took enforcement action on about 70 accounts, which includes a combination of permanent suspensions and account challenges to verify ownership,” a Twitter spokeswoman said in a...
UK to press for Canada-style trade deal with EU when talks start in March
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will underline its desire for a Canada-style trade deal with the EU when formal talks start next month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street office said on Saturday. Ministers will meet on Tuesday to sign off on the formal trade mandate document which will frame Britain’s negotiating aims, before it is...
George Washington sought honest British workers over ‘slovenly’ Americans
LONDON (Reuters) – George Washington, the first president of the United States, praised the honesty of British farmers and sought to entice some to his estates because local tenants were so “slovenly”, according to a handwritten letter he wrote in 1796. In a three-page letter to the Earl of Buchan, Washington asks the Scottish nobleman...
Let’s come together to tax tech giants, say G20 officials eyeing $100 billion boost
RIYADH (Reuters) – Leading world economies must show unity in dealing with aggressive “tax optimization” by global digital giants like Google (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Facebook (FB.O), G20 officials said on Saturday. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is developing global rules by to make digital companies pay tax where they do business,...
In Mexico’s cradle of corn, climate change leaves its mark
TEHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) – At least 9,000 years ago, humans began domesticating corn for the first time near Tehuacan, in the central Mexican state of Puebla, laying the foundation for permanent settlements in the Americas. But in the past few years, more frequent and longer droughts have forced many farmers in the area to give...
Sanders blasts Russia for reportedly trying to boost his presidential campaign
WASHINGTON/LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders warned Russia on Friday to stay out of 2020 White House elections after U.S. officials had told him Moscow was trying to aid his campaign. “The intelligence community is telling us they are interfering in this campaign, right now, in 2020. And what I say to...
Sanders heads to big win in Nevada caucuses, Biden in second place
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Bernie Sanders appeared headed to a decisive victory in the Democratic presidential caucuses in Nevada on Saturday, and early returns showed Joe Biden landing a second-place finish that would give his struggling campaign new hope. Fox News projected Sanders as the winner in Nevada, where scattered early returns showed him opening...
EBay in discussions with multiple parties for sale of classified business
(Reuters) – EBay Inc (EBAY.O) is in discussions with multiple candidates regarding a potential transaction for its classified-ads business, the company said on Friday. The company expects to provide an update regarding the process by the middle of 2019, it said in a statement. Earlier on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported eBay is reaching out...
WarnerMedia to reunite ‘Friends’ in HBO Max special
(Reuters) – WarnerMedia is reuniting its “Friends” cast for an untitled, unscripted special for its upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, the company said on Friday. AT&T Inc’s (T.N) WarnerMedia said here series stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will return to the hit comedy’s original soundstage, Stage...
Prince Harry and his wife will stop using ‘Sussex Royal’ brand
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have decided not to use the word “royal” in their branding after they start a new life in Canada following their decision to step back from royal duties. The decision follows weeks of talks between the couple and the British royal family about how they...
U.N. says it fears ‘bloodbath’ in northwest Syria fighting
GENEVA/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United Nations warned on Friday that fighting in northwest Syria could “end in a bloodbath” and called again for a ceasefire, while Moscow denied reports of a mass flight of civilians from a Russian-led Syrian government offensive. Syrian troops backed by Russian air power have been battling since December to eliminate...
At least six Indonesian students killed when swept away by river tides
JAKARTA (Reuters) – At least six students in the Indonesian province of Yogyakarta were killed and five more were missing on Friday after a tidal surge swept them away during a school trip, said disaster mitigation officials. About 250 high school students were walking along a river when high waters pulled them in, drowning them....
Murder case brings fresh calls to ban ‘rough sex’ defence
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Men accused of murder should not be allowed to use rough sex as a legal defence, women’s rights advocates said on Friday, after the killer of a British backpacker was jailed for life in a case that drew fresh scrutiny on the issue. Grace Millane, 22, was visiting New Zealand...
22nd February
Myanmar to court-martial more troops over Rohingya crackdown, army says
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s army said in a statement on Friday it would hold more court-martials over alleged abuses against Rohingya Muslims, after a government-appointed commission said soldiers committed war crimes against the minority. The panel concluded, in a report published in January, that members of the security forces, among “multiple actors”, were responsible for...
Australian state mulls nation’s first gay ‘conversion therapy’ ban
KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – An Australian state is considering the nation’s first ban and jail sentences for so-called gay conversion therapy, a bid that has sparked division more than two years after the country legalised same-sex marriage. The northeastern state of Queensland introduced a bill in November that would prohibit conversion therapy, with...
Prime minister leaves Lesotho, avoids being charged with murdering wife
MASERU (Reuters) – Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane left the country, skipping a court appearance on Friday at which he was expected to be charged with murdering his estranged wife. Thabane, 80, had been due in court at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) over the death of Lipolelo Thabane, who was shot dead in June 2017...
Kazakh poachers sentenced to life for murdering ranger
ALMATY (Reuters) – A Kazakh court on Friday sentenced three poachers to life in prison for murdering a state ranger who attempted to stop them from hunting endangered saiga antelope, a case that drew the attention of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The court said the three men had assaulted two state rangers who pursued them in...
