At the stroke of midnight on July 3, 1954, members of the London Housewives’ Association held a ceremony in central London to mark the end of food rationing in Britain that had commenced 14 years before, after the start of the Second World War. Rationing covered goods from meat and …
Read More »Feting French heroes, known and unknown
Of the many delights of living in Paris is the ability to enjoy history, art and culture, thanks to the city’s outstanding museums. The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Centre Georges Pompidou are some of the world’s most popular museums located in the French capital. But there are others …
Read More »Venezuela’s controversial ‘super-agency’ turns one
Venezuela’s controversial Constituent Assembly (CA) marked its first anniversary on Saturday as the embodiment of President Nicolas Maduro’s entrenchment in power despite an economic crisis that has crippled the country’s public services and destroyed its currency. The assembly’s very creation last year was largely responsible for four months of street …
Read More »N. Korea flouted UN sanctions: report
North Korea has pressed ahead with its nuclear and missile programmes and continues to evade UN sanctions through increased illegal ship-to-ship transfers of oil products at sea, a UN report said on Friday. In a 62-page report sent to the Security Council, the UN panel of experts also listed violations …
Read More »Trump foreign policy stands in contrast to his govt.’s line
the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a Russian bank accused of helping North Korea with weapons-related activities. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listed stringent preconditions for any engagement with Iran. And the administration’s top intelligence and law enforcement officials vowed to combat Russian interference in the midterm elections, while Senate …
Read More »Latin America seeks more missions
India should respect the promise it made in 2010 to open embassies in three more Latin American nations, a group of Ambassadors has urged Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. A senior diplomat from the region told The Hindu that these countries were awaiting action on India’s promise, especially after Prime Minister …
Read More »China warns of new tariffs on U.S. goods
Beijing warned on Friday that it was prepared to impose new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods if Washington ups the ante in the escalating U.S.-China trade war. The Commerce Ministry issued a statement saying the new duties would be applied if Washington pulled the trigger on President …
Read More »Pope declares death penalty as ‘inadmissible’ in new policy
Extract: The Vatican said Pope Francis had approved a change to the catechism of the Catholic Church — the compilation of official Catholic teaching. Previously, the catechism said the church didn’t exclude recourse to capital punishment “if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the …
Read More »U.S. trade war won’t work, says China
Extract: China’s top envoy called on the U.S. to remain “cool-headed” on Thursday as Washington threatened to raise the tariff rate on the next $200 billion of Chinese imports. “We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake. Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behaviour, China has …
Read More »Election sees rise of anti-blasphemy party
A relatively new anti-blasphemy party, whose leader has reportedly vowed to nuke the Netherlands should he ever come to power, did surprisingly well in Pakistan’s elections. Islamist fundamentalist parties fielded more than 1,500 candidates in Pakistan’s provincial and national elections that were won by Imran Khan. The performance of Tehreek-e-Labaik …
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