The United States on Monday (Dec 10) imposed sanctions on three North Korean officials as it called the regime's human rights record among the world's worst, in an abrupt shift from President Donald Trump's efforts to woo the regime. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US would continue to take action against human rights abusers around the globe. (AFP/Mandel Ngan) In actions required by Congress, the Trump administration said it would seize any US assets of Choe Ryong Hae, described as the right-hand man of leader Kim Jong Un, and two others over their roles in suppression of freedom of speech. "Standing up for such rights and freedoms is a foreign policy priority that represents the best traditions of the United States," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said. "Human rights abuses in North Korea remain among the worst in the world and include extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture, prolonged arbitrary detention, rape, forced abortions and other … [Read more...] about US sanctions top Kim Jong Un aides over North Korea human rights
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Myanmar seizes heroin haul worth US$4.7 million: Police
Myanmar has seized 370 kilogrammes (815 pounds) of heroin worth US$4.7 million during a raid in the northeast, police said, the latest big bust in the world's second-largest opium producer after Afghanistan. Demand for methamphetamine has surged in Myanmar while the cultivation of opium, used to make heroin, has declined AFP/Ye Aung THU Weak rule of law and conflict-riddled border areas allow industrial-size trade in heroin, pills and crystal methamphetamine - known as ice - to flourish, even as massive drug seizures routinely grab headlines. The most recent narcotics batch was discovered in a truck outside a monastery near the Shan state capital Taunggyi on Saturday night, police said in a statement Sunday. Two men were arrested after officers found them with "62 bags containing 170kg of white heroin and 200kg of brown heroin", it said, referring to colours indicating levels of purity. The bust was worth a little more than 7 billion kyat, or nearly US$4.7 million. … [Read more...] about Myanmar seizes heroin haul worth US$4.7 million: Police
Top IMF economist predicts “sharper” US slowdown in 2020
Americans will begin feeling the effects next year of a marked slowing in world economic growth but should be spared a new recession, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund said in remarks published on Sunday (Dec 9). File photo of International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Maurice Obstfeld during the 2018 IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Oct 9,2018. (Stephen Jaffe/INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND/AFP) "We have long been predicting somewhat lower (US) growth for 2019 than what we are seeing this year," as the effects of the Trump administration's fiscal and budgetary measures begin to fade, IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said. He was speaking in an interview with the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, just days before he is to retire from the world body. The slowdown "is going to be sharper probably in 2020 than in 2019, according to the data we are seeing," Obstfeld said. The IMF has … [Read more...] about Top IMF economist predicts “sharper” US slowdown in 2020
Britain”s May says Brexit deal defeat could topple government
Theresa May's message came with her government fearing a heavy defeat on Tuesday of the draft withdrawal agreement she signed with Brussels last month. Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is putting her Brexit deal to a vote in parliament on Dec 11. (AFP/Mark DUFFY) LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May warned on Sunday (Dec 9) if parliament rejects her Brexit deal, it could leave Britain in the European Union and bring the opposition Labour Party to power. The embattled leader's message came with her government fearing a heavy defeat on Tuesday of the draft withdrawal agreement she signed with Brussels last month. Media reports said May is under pressure from her cabinet to delay the vote and fly to Brussels to secure more concessions ahead of a planned summit with 27 fellow EU leaders on Thursday and Friday. But Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told the BBC: "The vote is going ahead." May said Britain "would truly be in uncharted waters" if the text agreed after nearly two … [Read more...] about Britain”s May says Brexit deal defeat could topple government
From shopping to tourism, French protests hit economy
A bakery near the Saint -Lazare railway station in Paris was ransacked. (AFP/Eric FEFERBERG) As riots flared in Paris on Saturday, Livio Forte, a tourist from New York, could only watch on as police trucks lined up on the Place Vendome. The chic square's luxury jewellery shops were boarded up, the diamonds and watches gone from their windows to protect them from looters. The trip had been intended as a romantic surprise for his wife Carmela's 59th birthday. At least, they joked, it would be a memorable one. "Everything's closed," Carmela said. The couple had planned a trip to Normandy to see the beach where Carmela's father fought in World War II, but ended up cancelling it because of anti-government roadblocks. The Eiffel Tower, museums, department stores - all closed on what would normally be a bustling Saturday in the run-up to Christmas. The US embassy had issued a warning to Americans to "avoid crowds" in Paris, while Belgium, Portugal and the Czech Republic advised citizens to … [Read more...] about From shopping to tourism, French protests hit economy