US President Donald Trump is to visit the UK on Friday 13 July, after previously cancelling a trip amid claims he would face mass protests. It will not be the full-blown state visit Mr Trump was promised when Prime Minister Theresa May visited the White House in January last year. But an invitation to a … Read more
French and German support for a regional Sahel force to battle jihadists will persuade other European nations of the benefits of backing the regional counter-terror measure, Germany’s defence minister said Tuesday. Ursula von Der Leyen spoke to journalists in Bamako after talks with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, arriving six days after a helicopter crash in … Read more
France will set up processing centres in Libya for asylum seekers trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday. “The idea is to create hotspots to avoid people taking crazy risks when they are not all eligible for asylum. We’ll go to them,” Macron said during a visit to a refugee … Read more
The biggest grossing German movie last year was a fizzy feel-good summer comedy about the country’s refugee influx, “Welcome to the Hartmanns”. Just a year on, German screens are darkening with “Club Europa”, a sobering take on the challenges and dilemmas in the newcomers’ integration that mirrors a growing national sense of ambivalence. The new … Read more
The world hailed Chinese Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo as a brave fighter for human rights after his death from cancer. Liu, a government critic and thorn in the side of the authorities for decades, died in custody, having been sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 for “subversion”. His death brought criticism for … Read more
French President Emmanuel Macron rolled out the red carpet to welcome Donald Trump to Paris on Thursday for an overseas trip the White House hopes will offer respite from a growing scandal back home. The US president is to be Macron’s guest of honour during celebrations for Bastille Day on Friday, France’s national day, which … Read more
China’s most famous political prisoner, the Nobel laureate and democracy icon Liu Xiaobo, has died at the age of 61. The Chinese intellectual and activist, who championed non-violent resistance as a way of overcoming “forceful tyranny”, is the first Nobel peace prize winner to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, the 1935 recipient, who died under … Read more
The first of more than 3,500 would-be migrants picked up off the coast of Libya in recent days arrived Wednesday in Italy, as Rome pressures other countries into taking their share. The early morning saw a coast guard vessel with 481 migrants aboard reach the southern Sicilian port of Pozzallo, while the Phoenix vessel of … Read more
Germany said Wednesday it was ready to treat terminally ill Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, and urged Beijing to let him leave the country. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert voiced “the very greatest concern” over reports that Liu’s health had further deteriorated, calling the family’s situation “dramatic”. The democracy advocate’s hospital said Wednesday that … Read more
Six weeks after welcoming Russia’s Vladimir Putin to France at the Palace of Versailles, new French President Emmanuel Macron will use history and his country’s grandeur to try to charm Donald Trump on Thursday. In London, Berlin, Brussels and Paris, European leaders are wondering how best to handle the unpredictable US president, whose nationalist “America … Read more
A Chinese hospital said Tuesday it was still scrambling to save terminally-ill Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, fuelling fears that he could die without getting the freedom urged by foreign governments. The health of the prominent 61-year-old democracy advocate has deteriorated since authorities revealed last month that he had been transferred from prison to a hospital … Read more
Leaders from the world’s leading economies broke with U. S. President Donald Trump on climate policy at a G20 summit on Saturday, in a rare public admission of disagreement and blow to multilateral cooperation. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, keen to show off her skills as a mediator two months before a German election, achieved her … Read more
G20 countries have managed to avoid a total bust-up with Donald Trump over climate change, leaving the door open for Washington to return to the Paris Agreement — but at the cost of risky concessions. After the US president decided last month to pull out of the hard-fought deal to combat global warming, climate change … Read more
During a difficult visit to Europe Donald Trump appeared out of sync with traditional allies, struggling to show that unorthodox strategies toward rival powers Russia and China can deliver results. At one point Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Angela Merkel exchanged a knowing glance as the US president veered off on another … Read more
A ceasefire set to take effect in southwest Syria on Sunday is a US priority and an important step toward eventual peace throughout the war-torn country, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said. “At noon local time tomorrow, a de-escalation zone in southwest Syria will begin to take effect,” HR McMaster said in a statement … Read more
For a moment Saturday the United States was represented by another Trump on the world stage, when the president’s daughter Ivanka took a seat among a table of G20 leaders in Germany. The 35-year-old former fashion model sat down next to Xi Jinping, Angela Merkel and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Hamburg, diplomats and the White … Read more
World leaders made concessions on trade and climate language to Donald Trump Saturday at the end of the most fractious and riot-hit G20 summit ever, in exchange for preserving a fragile unity of the club of major industrialised and emerging economies. In a departure from final summit declarations that tend to outline consensus on issues … Read more
G20 nations launched an unprecedented initiative Saturday at the group’s summit in Germany to fight poverty in Africa, but critics called the plan half-hearted. Under German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “Investment Compacts”, an initial seven African countries would pledge reforms and receive technical support in order to attract new private investment. More than half of Africans … Read more
Leaders have begun a final day of talks at the G20 meeting in Hamburg as officials try to bridge the gap with the US on issues such as trade and climate change. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is hosting the summit in Hamburg, said the talks so far had been “very difficult”. Negotiators worked through … Read more
As world leaders prepare for the final day of talks at the G20 meeting in Germany, we bring you how much some of them take home every year as their earnings. America’s Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron of France, Angela Merkel of Germany, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, UK’s Theresa May, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Lee Hsien Long … Read more