Australian trade minister arrives in China amid rising tensions
Australia’s Minister for Trade, Simon Birmingham, on Tuesday became the highest-ranking Australian official to visit China in a year, as Canberra attempts to ensure that cooling diplomatic relations do not hinder trade.
Macron, Xi to agree ‘irreversibility’ of Paris climate accord
French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping will sign a pact that includes wording on the “irreversibility” of the Paris climate accord, an official from the French presidential office said on Tuesday.
U.S. not ‘safe’ for refugees, rights groups argue in Canadian court
The United States is unsafe for would-be refugees and a Canada-U.S. agreement that compels asylum seekers to first apply for U.S. sanctuary ought to be ripped up, lawyers for refugees and rights groups argued in a Canadian federal court on Monday.
Trump speaks with Egypt’s Sisi, backs talks on disputed Ethiopia dam
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday and voiced support for negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over a giant hydroelectric dam on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile, the White House said.
Turkey captures sister of dead IS leader in Syria: Turkish official
Turkey captured the sister of dead Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Monday in the northern Syrian town of Azaz, a senior Turkish official told Reuters, and is interrogating her husband and daughter-in-law who were also detained.
Mexico’s drug gangs churning out deadly fentanyl-laced pills: DEA
Mexican drug cartels are making “mass quantities” of fake prescription pills containing the synthetic opioid fentanyl with the intention of selling them to users throughout North America, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said on Monday.
Guatemala’s next president to cut ties with Maduro’s Venezuela
Guatemalan President-elect Alejandro Giammattei said on Monday that he will break off all diplomatic relations with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro when he takes office on Jan. 14.
Trump administration begins Paris climate pact exit
The Trump administration said on Monday it filed paperwork to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, the first formal step in a one-year process to exit the global pact to fight climate change.
North Korea says U.S. terrorism report shows ‘hostile policy’ that makes talks difficult: KCNA
North Korea hit back at a U.S. State Department report released last week, saying the report’s description of North Korea as a sponsor of terrorism is an example of a “hostile policy” by the United States that is preventing denuclearization talks from …
Spain’s election candidates clash over Catalonia in TV debate
The main candidates to become Spain’s next prime minister clashed on Monday over how to handle Catalan separatism, as they tried to woo voters ahead of a repeat election that opinion polls show could be as inconclusive as the one in April.
