The Italian government won a confidence vote in parliament’s lower house on Friday paving the way for the approval of a bill aimed at boosting growth through tax breaks and investment incentives.
From:: Reuters – World
Ethiopia opposition see dangers if 2020 vote delayed
Opposition politicians in Ethiopia are warning against a delay to national elections due in 2020 that would be the first under reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed but are under threat from an explosion of regional ethnic rivalries.
From:: Reuters – World
Trump says he aborted retaliatory strike to spare Iranian lives
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he aborted a military strike on Iran because he it could have killed 150 people, a disproportionate response to Tehran’s downing of an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone.
From:: Reuters – World
Pence to postpone China policy speech ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting: WSJ
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will postpone his planned speech on China policy next week to avoid stoking additional tensions ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing a senior administration official.
From:: Reuters – World
Black-clad, anti-extradition protesters flood streets of Hong Kong
Thousands of demonstrators blockaded police headquarters on Friday as Asia’s leading financial center braced itself for a third weekend of mass protests against an extradition bill that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into crisis.
From:: Reuters – World
Displaced families suffering subhuman conditions in Ethiopia: Egeland
Displaced families are enduring subhuman conditions in Ethiopia without enough food and shelter, Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said on Thursday.
From:: Reuters – World
EU leaders scramble for consensus on 2050 carbon neutral target
EU leaders hoping for the bloc to lead the fight against global warming by agreeing on Thursday to go carbon neutral by 2050 engaged in last-ditch diplomacy to ease fears among central and eastern states that doing so could cost jobs.
From:: Reuters – World
Trump says Iran 'made a very big mistake' by shooting down drone
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said Iran made “a very big mistake” by shooting down a U.S. military drone that Tehran said was on a spy mission over its territory, in an incident that fanned fears of wider military conflict in the Middle East.
From:: Reuters – World
Iran's Zarif says U.S. lying about drone being hit over international waters
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter on Thursday that the United States is lying over its drone being hit by Iran in international waters, saying Tehran will take the matter to the United Nations.
From:: Reuters – World
Top Democrat Pelosi: U.S. has no appetite to go to war with Iran
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday the United States has no appetite to go to war with Iran, after Tehran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone in the Gulf region.
From:: Reuters – World