South Korean, Chinese students face off over Hong Kong protests
Kim Ji-mun, a 23-year-old South Korean university student, had just put up a banner on campus with his friends in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests when a group of Chinese students tried to take it down.
Anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats take opinion poll lead
The anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats have overtaken the Social Democrats to become Sweden’s most popular party for the first time, an opinion poll showed on Friday, nine years after winning its first seats in parliament.
UK’s Labour plans to nationalize BT’s network in free broadband plan
Britain’s opposition Labour Party plans to nationalize BT’s broadband network to provide free internet for all, a radical election pledge to roll back 35 years of private ownership that caught both the company and its shareholders by surprise.
In win for protesters, Chile to vote on Pinochet-era constitution
Lawmakers in Chile agreed on Friday to hold a referendum next April on replacing the Pinochet-era constitution, bowing to demands of protesters who want the country’s social and economic model overhauled.
Bolivia’s dueling parties converge on new vote to calm political chaos
Bolivia’s interim government and lawmakers from the party of unseated leftist leader Evo Morales appeared to have reach an accord late on Thursday to hold a new presidential election, potentially helping resolve country’s political crisis.
Bangladesh coast guard rescues 122 Rohingya from sinking boat
Bangladesh coast guard rescued 122 Rohingya Muslim refugees from the Bay of Bengal on Thursday as the boat they had boarded to illegally flee to Malaysia started sinking due to a mechanical problem, a coast guard official said.
China frees Japanese academic as Tokyo prepares for Xi visit
A Japanese academic returned home on Friday after being released by China following several weeks in detention, a move expected to help pave the way for a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Japan next year.
University tells non-students to go now as Hong Kong campus showdowns loom
The president of Hong Kong’s Chinese University, which anti-government protesters have turned into a fortress stockpiled with petrol bombs and bows and arrows, threatened on Friday to call in “assistance” unless all non-students leave.
German parliament enshrines climate protection in law
Germany’s lower house of parliament on Friday voted to enshrine climate protection in law, setting specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from sectors like energy, transport and housing.
UK PM Johnson says Labour’s plan to part-nationalise BT is ‘crackpot’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said a pre-election promise by the opposition Labour Party to nationalize telecoms provider BT’s fixed line network to provide free full-fiber broadband for all is a “crackpot scheme.”
