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NewsAFP NewsEU implements Brexit 'no deal' contingency plans
The European Union on Wednesday adopted back-up plans to protect essential air transport and finance in the event that Britain leaves the bloc without a Brexit deal in 100 days. The European Commission said it was acting "to ensure that the necessary contingency measures can enter into application
- NewsMalay Mail
Yeo Bee Yin among top 10 people who mattered this year, scientific journal says
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 ― Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin has been named among the 10 people who mattered most this year by renowned scientific...
TechReutersSaudi starts work with SoftBank on 200 gigawatt solar plan: minister
Saudi Arabia has already started implementing an agreement with SoftBank Group's Vision Fund to provide 200 gigawatts of solar power in the kingdom, energy minister Khalid al-Falih said at a post-budget event. The kingdom's Public Investment Fund agreed to invest $45 billion in the giant tech
NewsAFP NewsGerman football boss blasts Infantino over lack of transparency
German Football Federation president Reinhard Grindel has launched a withering attack on FIFA president Gianni Infantino over a lack of transparency on proposals for new competitions in an interview with Sportbuzzer.de published on Wednesday. "With this lack of transparency on these questions he
TechReutersVolkswagen buys connected car unit from Volvo
BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen said it would take over Volvo's WirelessCar, a Stockholm-based digital service developer, specializing in connected driving. The deal, which still has to be approved by cartel authorities, would make VW a 75-percent shareholder in WirelessCar, the company said on Wednesday
NewsAFP NewsIndian journalist jailed after Modi Facebook post
An Indian journalist has been jailed for a year after he criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook, in the latest example of what critics claim is a clampdown on free speech. Kishorechandra Wangkhem was arrested last month in the remote northeastern state of Manipur under a draconian law that
NewsReutersEU court claims final word on Berlusconi's stake in Mediolanum
The European Union's top court will have the final word on whether Silvio Berlusconi can keep his 30 percent stake in Banca Mediolanum despite a conviction for tax fraud, it said on Wednesday. The ruling lengthens the odds on a court victory for Berlusconi as EU judges have a track record of ruling
NewsAFP NewsFrench court annuls dismissal payout to 'rogue trader' Kerviel
A French appeals court on Wednesday cancelled an unfair dismissal payout to former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel, whose deals cost the bank 4.9 billion euros after they turned sour. In September, he lost his bid for a retrial after a court sentenced him to a five-year prison term in 2010, with
TechReutersUber and other taxi firms to pay London congestion charge
Uber, Addison Lee and other private hire taxi operators in London will no longer be exempt from paying a weekday charge for entering the city center, as Mayor Sadiq Khan continues his bid to improve air quality. Private hire firms had been exempt from the Congestion Charge but regulator Transport for
NewsAFP NewsMadagascar votes in showdown between two ex-presidents
The clash between Andry Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana could spark fresh instability in the impoverished country if the result is rejected by the losing candidate or fraud allegations are widespread, analysts warn. Rajoelina and Ravalomanana were both banned from running in the 2013 ballot as part
NewsReutersNomads and farmers in fight for Nigeria's heartland
A Reuters analysis of land use data shows how a massive expansion of farming in Nigeria's Middle Belt has cut access to grazing land for nomadic herders and fuelled persistent violence. If the coming dry season in Nigeria follows the pattern of previous years, violence will soon erupt between herders
- NewsCoconuts KL
Dear Festival Diary: Our weekend spent getting to the core of Wonderfruit Festival
Editor’s Note: Our correspondent goes deep into “lifestyle festival” territory at this year’s Wonderfruit, returning to us with colorful tales and cautionary accounts from her four days spent roaming the festival grounds. Her journey is at times thrilling, and at other times, joyless, and harrowing.
NewsReutersRussia's Mutko resigns as Football Union chief
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, a long-serving sports official entangled in allegations of state-sponsored doping, resigned as head of Russia's Football Union on Wednesday, the soccer body said. The announcement followed a string of decisions that recently have rolled back Mutko'
- NewsMalay Mail
Kit Siang: Umno on its last legs with call for Najib’s return as de facto leader
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 ― Umno supreme council Datuk Lokman Noor Adam’s proposal for his former president Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve as the de facto leader of the party shows how low the once...
NewsReutersYemen's warring sides trade blame for truce breach, swap prisoner lists
Yemen's warring parties blamed each other for violations of a U.N.-mediated ceasefire in Hodeidah meant to avert an all-out battle for a port city vital for emergency aid supplies and pave the way to peace negotiations. The United Nations was due to convene the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni
- NewsMalay Mail
Why the continuous intimidation against Fadiah Nadwa? Rights groups ask
PETALING JAYA, Dec 19 ― Civil rights groups Amnesty International and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) have today accused the police of continuous intimidation against Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, amid...
NewsAFP NewsYemen govt allies urge swift UN deployment to save Hodeida truce
A hard-won truce in the battleground Yemeni city of Hodeida will collapse if rebel violations persist and the United Nations does not intervene, the Saudi-led coalition said on Wednesday. UN observers are due in Yemen to head up monitoring teams made up of government and rebel representatives tasked
NewsReutersIsrael says Hezbollah closed precision missile plants, arsenal limited
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the Lebanese group Hezbollah had shut down plants to develop precision-guided missiles after Israel exposed them, and currently had at most just "a few dozen" of the weapons. There was no immediate comment from the armed, Iran-backed
NewsReutersUK's post-Brexit immigration system will not include target
The British government's post-Brexit plans will not include a specific target to reduce annual net migration, the interior minister said on Wednesday, appearing to abandon one of the Conservative Party's main election promises. The government will set out in detail for the first time on Wednesday
NewsAFP News'Legend' Solskjaer named Manchester United caretaker manager
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was on Wednesday named as Manchester United's caretaker manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho. The former United striker will take charge of the first team with immediate effect and will remain in place while the club looks for a new full-time
NewsReutersSouth Africa issues arrest warrant for Zimbabwe's Grace Mugabe
South Africa has issued an arrest warrant for Zimbabwe's former first lady Grace Mugabe over an alleged assault in an upmarket district of Johannesburg last year, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. After the alleged assault with an electric cable came to light in August 2017, the South African
NewsAFP NewsThird Canadian detained in China: report
A third Canadian citizen has been detained in China, a Canadian newspaper reported Wednesday, amid a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Ottawa over the arrest of a Chinese telecom executive. Canada's foreign ministry said it was "aware of a Canadian citizen" having been detained, according
- NewsMalay Mail
Return as Umno de facto leader? Thanks but no thanks, says Najib
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 ― Datuk Seri Najib Razak has dismissed calls for him to return as Umno’s de facto leader today, following Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi handover of president duties to his...
