World

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump came under fire yesterday for commuting the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the ex-Illinois governor convicted of trying to peddle Barack Obama’s vacated U.S.

OTTAWA,  (Reuters) – Canada is seeking a peaceful end to a rail blockade that has shut down freight and passenger traffic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said yesterday, amid increasing pressure from business leaders and the Conservative opposition to clear the tracks.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday said he was pushing a bill through Congress to allow commercial mining and agriculture on protected indigenous lands, as he met with tribal leaders to announce a credit line to support indigenous farmers who have developed soy plantations on their reservations.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The United States today tightened financial restrictions on Venezuela, blacklisting a subsidiary of Russian state oil major Rosneft that President Donald Trump’s administration has said provides a lifeline to President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

KONNEY/NEW DELHI, India, (Reuters) – Bussa Krishna first began worshipping Donald Trump four years ago when the U.S.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg today qualified for this week’s Democratic presidential debate in Nevada, putting him on the same stage as his rivals for the first time in the race for the party’s nomination.

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – The number of new coronavirus infections in mainland China fell below 2,000 last night for the first time since January, although global experts warn it is still too early to say the outbreak is being contained.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos will commit $10 billion to fund scientists, activists, nonprofits and other groups fighting to protect the environment and counter the effects of climate change, he said yesterday.

GENEVA, (Reuters) – The latest data provided by China on people infected with coronavirus indicates a decline in new cases but “every scenario is still on the table” in terms of the epidemic’s evolution, the World Health Organization said today.

SHANGHAI/SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, (Reuters) – More than 300 American passengers have been flown home from a cruise ship after two weeks under quarantine off Japan, including 14 found to have coronavirus who were kept isolated on the flight.

SHANGHAI,  (Reuters) – The number of reported new cases of coronavirus in China’s Hubei province rose today after two days of falls, as authorities imposed tough new restrictions on movement to prevent the spread of the disease which has now killed more than 1,700 people.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – More than 1,000 former U.S. Justice Department officials yesterday called for Attorney General William Barr to resign over his handling of the trial of a longtime adviser of President Donald Trump.

MANILA,  (Reuters) – Late each night, a dozen women chat and share a meal before hitting the narrow streets of a Manila suburb where a death squad once roamed.

AMMAN/BEIRUT/ANKARA,  (Reuters) – Syrian government forces made significant advances yesterday in the country’s northwestern Aleppo province, seizing most of the rebel-held region, state media said, a day before a new round of talks between Turkey and Russia on the escalation in the area.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING,  (Reuters) – The number of new coronavirus cases in China fell today and a health official said intense efforts to stop its spread were beginning to work, as another 70 people tested positive on a virus-stricken cruise ship quarantined in Japan.

PARIS (Reuters) – An 80-year-old Chinese tourist has died of the fast-spreading coronavirus in France, becoming the first fatality in Europe, French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn said yesterday.

MUNICH (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday defended his nation’s global role despite misgivings in Europe, vowing that Western values would prevail over Russian and Chinese desires for “empire.”

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The death toll from a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has reached 1,665 as of the end of yesterday, up by 142 from the previous day, the country’s National Health Commission said on Sunday morning.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s military yesterday held exercises that deployed civilian militia and armored vehicles in the capital Caracas and around the country, an effort by President Nicolas Maduro to show strength as Washington prepares to escalate sanctions.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will “turn off the tap” of foreign, low-skilled labour and require all skilled workers wishing to come to the country to have a job offer and meet salary and language requirements as it sets post-Brexit rules from next year.