Asian markets rose Thursday, led by Hong Kong after the city's traders extended an impressive start to the year thanks to optimism over China's reopening and officials there making key policy changes to encourage investment.. The upbeat mood has been boosted by signs that China is implementing policy changes to make it a more attractive investment location.
Aid groups say they have been "pushed against a wall" by the Taliban prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs, a ban that has left a dangerous gap in life-saving support.. "The Taliban have pushed us against a wall," said a senior official at a foreign NGO, who asked not to be identified.
Addressing the nation on New Year's Eve, French President Emmanuel Macron put the country on alert for another period of political turbulence. . But the 45-year-old president is now committed to a clear calendar that puts his reputation and ability to push through other changes on the line.
Ex-pope Benedict XVI was a brilliant theologian and defender of conservative values who made history by becoming the first pontiff to resign since the Middle Ages, after a scandal-dogged papacy.. He became the first pontiff to apologise for the scandals that emerged around the world, expressing "deep remorse" and meeting with victims in person.
Pope Francis will preside Thursday over the funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI at the Vatican, an unprecedented event in modern times expected to draw tens of thousands of people.. The last time a pope presided over the funeral of his predecessor was in 1802, when Pius VII led the ceremony for Pius VI -- but the circumstances were very different.
A former Bolivian cabinet minister was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison in Florida Wednesday after pleading guilty to money laundering in a bribery scheme, the US Justice Department said.. The four others in the operation pleaded guilty last year and were sentenced in June to up to 42 months in prison.
After a fortnight-long break, Peruvians took to the streets again on Wednesday, blocking roads countrywide to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, who took over from her ousted predecessor in December.. As long as Mrs Dina Boluarte does not resign, this will continue," he told Exitosa radio.
France is set to become the first Western country to deliver tanks to Ukraine, the French presidency announced Wednesday after talks between Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. . "The president wanted to increase... aid" to Ukraine "by accepting to deliver AMX-10 RC light tanks", an aide to the French leader told reporters on condition of anonymity after the call between Macron and Zelensky.
Russia said Wednesday the toll climbed in its worst single reported loss from a Ukrainian strike, which under-criticism Moscow blamed on troops using mobile phones.. The death toll in Makiivka is the highest reported by the Russian military in a single strike since its troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Iran warned France on Wednesday of consequences after satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons depicting supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Tehran deemed to be insulting.. Khamenei, the successor of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, is appointed for life.
