Broken promise: Philippines Duterte vetoes bill on short-term contracts
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed a measure that would have ended companies’ practice of hiring workers on short-term contracts, his spokesman said on Friday, reneging on a campaign promise that helped put him in office.
Protesters calling for ‘free Hong Kong’ converge on airport
More than 1,000 protesters calling for democracy and some chanting “free Hong Kong” converged on the Chinese-ruled city’s airport on Friday as Singapore advised its travelers to avoid protest areas in the territory.
Bullying won’t break EU unity, Merkel ally tells UK’s Johnson
The European Union will not be bullied into compromising its principles, Norbert Roettgen, a German lawmaker and ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, said in a warning to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
France tells UK PM Johnson: let’s work on post-Brexit relationship
France is ready to work with Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but Paris and other European capitals will not renegotiate the terms of the hard-fought Brexit deal, a French minister said on Friday.
Italy’s Salvini says economy minister’s job could depend on tax cuts: radio
Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria’s job could be at risk if he does not show enough courage in reducing taxes next year, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday.
Flags of inconvenience: noose tightens around Iranian shipping
Somewhere on its journey from the waters off Iran, around Africa’s southern tip and into the Mediterranean, the Grace 1 oil tanker lost the flag under which it sailed and ceased to be registered to Panama. Iran later claimed it as its own.
Chinese official urged Hong Kong villagers to drive off protesters before violence at train station
A week before suspected triad gang members attacked protesters and commuters at a rural Hong Kong train station last Sunday, an official from China’s representative office urged local residents to drive away any activists.
France’s Macron to discuss Brexit with Britain’s Johnson in coming weeks
French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss Brexit with Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whom he has invited to visit in the next few weeks, an official from Macron’s Elysee office said on Friday.
We’re ready to work with UK PM Johnson on post-Brexit relationship: French state minister
France is ready to work with Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson but Paris and other European capitals will not renegotiate the terms of the hard-fought Brexit deal, France’s state minister for European affairs said on Friday.
Pompeo says he’d go to Iran if needed as he asks U.S. allies to join maritime force
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday he was willing to go to Iran for talks amid tensions between Tehran and Washington, but also called on Japan, Britain and other nations to join a maritime force to guard oil tankers sailing through t…
