South Africa to deploy army to quell violent crime in Cape Town
South Africa will shortly deploy a battalion of soldiers to help police quell a surge in violence in gang-infested parts of Cape Town, a step normally only taken over the Christmas and New Year period when crime spikes in the city’s poorer neighborhood…
Germans fret about Merkel after shaking episodes
“Does Merkel travel too much?” asked mass-selling daily Bild on Friday as Germans fret about the health of their chancellor, who sat rather than stood at a ceremony on Thursday after shaking for the third time in as many weeks when standing a day earli…
U.S. diplomat says United States won’t intervene in Japan-South Korea dispute
The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia urged Japan and South Korea to settle a dispute over Japanese export restrictions through dialogue and said the United States did not plan to intervene, NHK reported on Friday.
Duterte mocks ‘ice-eating’ Iceland over U.N. vote on Philippine war on drugs
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took a swipe at Iceland on Friday for spearheading a U.N. resolution to investigate his bloody war on drugs, saying it was a nation made entirely of ice, with no understanding of his country’s problems.
Britain sends second warship to gulf amid tensions with Iran: Sky
Britain is sending a second warship to the Gulf amid growing tensions with Iran after Royal Marines seized an Iranian tanker off the coast of Gibraltar last week, Sky News reported.
Pakistani judge who jailed former PM sacked over blackmail claims
A senior Pakistani judge was sacked on Friday following a scandal over blackmail claims relating to the jailing of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on corruption charges, the law ministry said.
German SPD lists von der Leyen failures in damning paper to EU peers
Germany’s Social Democrats have circulated a damning paper to their European political group in which they call Ursula von der Leyen an “inadequate and inappropriate candidate” to lead the European Commission ahead of a vote on her nomination next week…
Iran strikes opposition positions in Iraqi Kurdistan: Tasnim
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have attacked positions of the Iranian armed opposition in the Kurdistan region of Iraq with drones and missiles, the Iranian semi-official news agency Tasnim reported on Friday.
Ireland considering port checks on whole island in case of no-deal Brexit
Ireland is exploring the idea of checking live animals and animal products from Britain as they arrive at ports on the whole island of Ireland if there is a no-deal Brexit, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday.
China says U.S. should ‘not play with fire’ on Taiwan
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi warned the United States on Friday that it should “not play with fire” on the question of Taiwan, expressing anger about a planned U.S. arms sale.
