World News

Japan and Britain signed a bilateral free trade deal Friday in the the first such major post-Brexit deal, reducing tariffs on Yorkshire lamb sold in Japan, as well as auto parts for Japan’s Nissan plant.

European governments are battling to contain a massive wave of new coronavirus infections. In the most dramatic move so far this season, the French government is imposing a curfew on two-thirds of the country, after strict measures in other nations, including Eastern Europe.

Thousands of Hungarians, many of them students, marched through Budapest on Friday to demand freedom in universities and media.

In another move towards a new era, Is­rael and Su­dan agreed Friday to nor­mal­ize ties in a U.S.-bro­kered deal.

The United States and a coalition of 31 other countries have signed onto the Geneva Consensus Declaration that upholds the importance women’s health, and states that there is no global right to abortion.

The Goldman Sachs Group agreed to pay $2.9 billion (€2.4 billion) in penalties to settle criminal charges in Malaysia’s 1MDB bribery scandal, said the US Justice Department Thursday.

Poland’s top court has ruled that abortions in cases of fetal defects are unconstitutional.

The European Union has awarded its top human rights prize to the Belarus opposition movement and its leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. They received the Sakharov Prize for their challenge to what EU leaders view as Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s long, hard-line reign.

Nigerian authorities reportedly opened fire on protestors demonstrating against the brutality of a police force called SARS (the Special Anti-Robbery Squad) in Lagos, Sky News reports.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized Wednesday for going on holiday to Greece while his nation was in a half-lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Economic Forum, which organizes the annual Davos economic summit, is involved in developing a passport-like system for travelers to prove they are not infected with COVID-19 before they enter another country, Zero Hedge reports. The system is being spearheaded by the Commons Project, a non-profit funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

The Iranian Islamic regime has announced it is beginning a massive air defense drill across half of Iran’s airspace this week, the Jerusalem Post (JP) reports. Set to start on Wednesday, the drill follows the expiration on October 18 of the ten-year long UN arms embargo on Iran, and renewed Iranian interest in upgrading its military and defense technology.

Pope Francis, in an Italian documentary released Wednesday, signaled support for same-sex civil unions.

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projects it will have the record desert locust swarms that have plagued East Africa under control by the end of the year.

Brussels and London have “re-established” a basis for Brexit talks on Wednesday following an apparent impasse last week, the UK’s chief negotiator David Frost said on Twitter.

The Trump administration has approved more than $1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in a move likely to further ratchet up tensions between Beijing and Washington.

China is preparing for a possible military invasion of Taiwan, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Sunday. The Chinese government considers Taiwan to be a break-away part of China and is determined to bring it under Beijing’s control.

Environmental groups have reacted furiously to reports that the Japanese government is set to approve plans to dump more than 1 million tons of highly radioactive water stored at the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, with their concerns shared by the governments of neighboring countries and people living in northeastern Japan.

The Nigerian state of Lagos has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Tuesday in response to nationwide protests over police brutality. The curfew would apply to all parts of the state, including the metropolis of Lagos, authorities said.

The United States and Russia moved closer Tuesday to reaching a deal on nuclear arms control that would freeze both nations’ nuclear warheads.