Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager whose demands for climate action are inspiring schoolchildren across the world.

Greta Thunberg has galvanised protests by high-schoolers in demanding stronger government action to fight global warming.

'I dare you': Swedish teen storms Davos with message about climate change

Press Trust of India

The Bangladesh Cricket Board had suspended Sabbir for six months from international cricket in September for abusing a fan on social media

Bangladesh recall Sabbir for NZ ODIs after ban reduced

Chinese authorities have detained a dozen labour activists over recent days in the latest clampdown on efforts to organise workplaces in China, rights groups said.
Beijing has taken an uncompromising line against efforts to establish independent labour unions in southern Guangdong province, the epicentre of China's high-tech manufacturing sector.
The campaign is backed by campus Marxist groups at some of China's most prestigious universities -- several leaders of which have been arrested or disappeared in recent months.
Another seven students and recent graduates from two elite Beijing universities were arrested on Monday, according to labour rights organisation Jasic Workers Solidarity.
The students were rounded up hours after publishing a statement accusing police of recording forced video confessions of previously detained student activists who had supported the Guangdong union campaign, the rights group said.
They had accused police of organising recent screenings of the videos, ..

Chinese authorities detain students, labour activists

PTI Automatic

Paris will not be drawn into a "stupidity contest" with the populist government of Italy, where officials have launched several verbal attacks on President Emmanuel Macron, France's Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau said Wednesday.
"Our intention is not to have a stupidity contest," Loiseau said, adding that the government would not wage a war of words or otherwise seek to retaliate against Rome.
Tensions have flared between the two countries since the Five Star Movement aligned with the far-right League party came to power in Italy last June.
Macron targeted the populist government specifically last year as he sought to form a pro-Europe alliance of parties ahead of European Parliament elections in May, raising the hackles of politicians in Rome.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio accused Paris of continuing to colonise Africa and causing people to migrate from the continent to Europe.
That prompted France to summon Italy's ambassador in protest over Di Maio's comments ...

France won't enter a 'stupidity contest' with Italy: minister

Children as young as 12 years old could be incarcerated under a bill backed by Philippine lawmakers on Wednesday which has been attacked by the UN and rights monitors.
The proposed law was among measures sought by President Rodrigo Duterte to further extend his deadly crackdown on drugs and crime, which has killed thousands since mid-2016.
Duterte's allies had originally proposed lowering the "age of criminal liability" to nine, but after mounting outrage the lower House of Representatives raised it to 12 and passed the bill on the second reading.
The current age at which children are held criminally liable in the Philippines is 15.
If the Senate -- where the bill has attracted greater opposition -- approves it the Philippines would join countries like Afghanistan which punish 12-year-old children for criminal acts.
"We still think that 12 is a very young age for children to be held criminally responsible," Human Rights Watch campaigner Carlos Conde told AFP Wednesday.
"The UN ...

Philippine lawmakers back bill to jail 12-year-olds

At least four people have died following overnight clashes ahead of Wednesday's rival protests in Venezuela by supporters and opponents of President Nicolas Maduro, police and non-governmental organizations said.
A 16-year-old was among the dead having suffered "a firearm injury during a demonstration" in the capital Caracas, the Social Conflict Observatory said.
The other three deaths were registered in the southern state of Bolivar.

Four dead in clashes ahead of Venezuela protests: Police, NGO

The British government on Wednesday played down concerns that Brexit is scaring away businesses after Sony said it was moving its European headquarters to the Netherlands amid a bitter political stalemate in London.
With just over two months to go until the scheduled date of Brexit on March 29 and no divorce deal in place, Britain faces the prospect of an imminent and chaotic departure from the European Union after 46 years of membership.
Interviewed by AFP at the World Economic Forum in Davos, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said Britain remained "open for business".
Britain "is an attractive destination for foreign direct investment -- and that during the time where there's been uncertainty over Brexit," Fox said.
The Japanese electronics giant said it was moving its headquarters' registration by the end of March to avoid Brexit-related customs issues.
Its rival Panasonic last year also moved its European headquarters from Britain to the Netherlands over concerns about ...

UK plays down concerns over Brexit as Sony quits HQ

France on Wednesday transferred Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona, a member of Africa's top footballing body, to the International Criminal Court in The Hague where he faces war crimes charges, the ICC said.
Ngaissona, who sits on the board of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), is charged with coordinating so-called anti-Balaka militia which emerged after civil war broke out in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2013.
The former CAR sports minister was arrested in France on December 12 on an ICC warrant.
The court said Ngaissona was extradited by France Wednesday "pursuant to an ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic." "This transfer followed the completion of necessary national proceedings in France", it said.
ICC Registrar Peter Lewis, "thanked the authorities of the French Republic and of the host State, The Netherlands, for their cooperation in the arrest and transfer of Mr Ngaissona to the Court", the 

France sends top African football official to war crimes court

Russia on Wednesday unveiled a missile system that Washington claims is in violation of a key arms control treaty, in a last-minute bid to counter US criticism and save the Soviet-era agreement.
President Donald Trump has threatened to walk away from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF), with Washington claiming that Russia's 9M729 ground-based missile system violates the deal.
Moscow has repeatedly denied the system contravenes the treaty and, to prove its point, on Wednesday showed off the missile at Patriot Park, a sprawling theme park near the town of Kubinka just outside Moscow.
Standing next to the system, a Russian defence ministry official detailed the missile's features to assembled foreign media and foreign military officials.
Russian defence and foreign ministry officials insisted the range of the missile system was allowed under the agreement.
Mikhail Matveevsky, Russia's chief of artillery and missile troops, said its maximum range is 480 kilometres (300 ...

Russia wheels out key missile in bid to save US arms treaty

Pope Francis announced Wednesday he will visit Japan in November, becoming the first pontiff to do so since John Paul II nearly 40 years ago.
"I will go to Japan in November," he said on board the Papal plane bringing him to Panama for a gathering of young Catholics.
The Argentine pontiff has repeatedly voiced a desire to visit Japan, home to some 450,000 Roman Catholics, including most recently in September last year.
Around 510,000 Protestants live in the largely Shinto Buddhist country, according to Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Francis had wanted to work as a missionary there in his youth but abandoned the plan after a lung operation.
The pope has made two trips to Asia since his election five years ago, visiting the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 2014, followed by Myanmar and Bangladesh last year.
In January of last year, Francis issued a harrowing photograph taken in 1945 showing a young Japanese boy carrying his dead brother.
The child, carried on the boy's back, was ...

Pope Francis announces Japan visit in November

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold Syria talks in Moscow on Wednesday, with Turkey saying they will focus on Ankara's so-called "security zone" in northern Syria.
The two leaders are on opposite sides of the conflict: Russia provides critical support to the Syrian government, while Turkey has backed rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
Despite this, they have worked closely to find a political solution to the seven-year conflict.
Russia and Turkey have agreed to coordinate ground operations in Syria following US President Donald Trump's shock announcement last month about pulling 2,000 American troops out of Syria.
Erdogan said Monday he would discuss with Putin the creation of a Turkish-controlled "security zone" in northern Syria, suggested by Trump.
The US-allied Kurds, who control much of the north, have rejected the idea, fearing a Turkish offensive against territory under their control.
Moscow, a ...

Erdogan in Moscow for talks with Putin on Syria safe zone

Europe does not want to impose a hard border on Ireland, a spokesman insisted Wednesday, one day after he warned this would be inevitable after any "no deal" Brexit.
On Tuesday, EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas had triggered concern in Dublin when he said the Irish border with Northern Ireland would have to be enforced.
If Britain leaves the European Union on March 29 without a withdrawal deal, the north-south border will become an external EU frontier, subject to customs controls.
The Irish government, however, insists it will not install "physical infrastructure" on a border that has been invisible since the Good Friday peace agreement.
EU officials say they stand in solidarity with Ireland, and that Britain must accept a divorce with a "backstop" to keep Northern Ireland in the same customs zone.
But Schinas' comment on Tuesday, confirming that if the British parliament rejects the backstop then the border will return, was seen as putting pressure on Dublin.
On Wednesday, 

EU will do 'all it can' to avoid Ireland hard border

Novak Djokovic was delighted to get back into the semi-finals at the Australian Open after missing out for two years as Kei Nishikori retired injured on Wednesday.
The world number one eased into a showdown with French 28th seed Lucas Pouille as Nishikori retired after just 51 minutes when behind 6-1, 4-1 in the quarter-final.
"Feels great. This has been my most successful Grand Slam throughout my career, the first one that I won back in 2008," said Djokovic, who is chasing a record seventh Melbourne Park title.
"I have a lot of beautiful memories from Rod Laver Arena.
"Yeah, past two years have been a bit tough with the elbow injury and everything. Over the past 10 years, I've had plenty of success here.
"Australia has been really kind to me throughout my career."
Eighth seed Nishikori had endured three five-set epics during 13hr 47min on court before the quarter-final clash and suffered a thigh strain in the first set as his previous exertions took their toll.
After a medical ...

Djokovic delight at stroll to semi after Nishikori retires

France's social spending is the highest in the developed world relative to the size of its economy, an OECD study found Wednesday, as the government weighs how to respond to "yellow vest" protests.
Expenditure on healthcare, pensions and other social services stood at 32 per cent of GDP last year, said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based inter-governmental research institution.
Outlays have risen sharply since 1990, when they represented just under 25 per cent of GDP, and are nearly triple the level of roughly 12 per cent of GDP in 1960.
That trend is broadly in line with other developed countries, reflecting the development of more comprehensive welfare states and higher pension spending as more people live longer.
But France's outlays are well above the current average of 20.5 percent of GDP for the 36 OECD member countries, with pensions making up a large chunk of the cash benefits paid out every month.
In neighbouring Germany social spending is 

France is world champion in social spending, study finds

The husband of jailed Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh has been sentenced to six years for security related charges, his lawyer told AFP on Wednesday.
"Reza Khandan has been sentenced to five years' jail for conspiring against national security and one year for propaganda against the system," Mohammad Moghimi said.
"He has also been banned for two years from leaving the country, any activity in social media or newspapers and membership of political groups," Moghimi added.
The sentence was handed down by the Tehran revolutionary court, which also handed down an identical sentence against fellow rights activist Farhad Meisami, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.
Moghimi, who represents both defendants, said they would appeal.
Khandan, who was arrested at his home in September, was released on bail last month.
Meisami, who was arrested at his workplace in July, is still awaiting a decision.
Khandan's wife is an an award-winning rights activist who was arrested in June 

Husband of jailed Iran rights lawyer gets six years

China's slowdown and Brexit took centre-stage Wednesday at the Davos forum of the world's business elite, but the unlikely star was shaping up to be a Swedish teenager whose demands for climate action are inspiring schoolchildren across the world.
The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) is taking place this week in a global context of rising populism and concern for the catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Arriving by train -- rather than a more polluting plane -- to Davos on Wednesday was Greta Thunberg, the Swedish 16-year-old who has galvanised protests by high-schoolers in Europe, Japan and the United States demanding stronger government action to fight global warming.
Thunberg grabbed the headlines with a fiery speech before world leaders at last month's COP24 climate talks in Poland.
In a video message posted on Twitter, she looking poised to unleash a similar message in Davos with a call on "companies and decision-makers into real and bold climate action."
"I don't ...

Swedish teenager upstages China, Brexit at Davos

A Chinese model who featured in a Dolce & Gabbana promotional video attacked for being culturally insensitive has apologised for her role in the production, more than two months after the firestorm erupted.
The controversy arose in November after the Italian fashion firm posted short clips on Instagram showing a woman eating pizza and spaghetti with chopsticks, which critics said was offensive to Chinese culture.
It escalated after screenshots emerged of an Instagram user's chat with the famously mercurial co-founder Stefano Gabbana, who used smiling poop emojis to describe China and launched insults at the country and its people.
"For not properly interpreting the proper way of holding chopsticks, I express my deepest regret," model Zuo Ye wrote in a lengthy post put up on Monday on the Weibo social media platform.
"I appreciate the fact that this isn't just my personal action, but that I am representing the image of our country, and of Chinese culture so I am racked with guilt, ...

Chinese Dolce & Gabbana model apologises for part in race row

Santander is to shut almost one fifth of its British branches following a surge in online banking, the Spanish group said on Wednesday.
Santander said it would close 140 branches, affecting 1,270 staff, of which about one third would be offered alternative roles in the company.
It meanwhile plans to retain 614 branches across the UK.
"The way our customers are choosing to bank with us has changed dramatically in recent years, with more and more customers using online and mobile channels," said Susan Allen, head of retail and business banking at Santander.
"As a result, we have had to take some very difficult decisions over our less visited branches, and those where we have other branches in close proximity," she added in Wednesday's statement.
Santander said that the number of transactions carried out via Santander branches had dropped by almost one quarter in the last three years.
Transactions via digital channels had doubled over the same period.
"We continue to believe that ...

Santander shuts UK branches as online banking surges

Tesco's former UK finance director was cleared Wednesday over a fraud and false accounting scandal at Britain's biggest retailer after the case against him was dropped.
The aquittal of Carl Rogberg means neither the world's third-largest supermarket group nor any of its executives have been successfully prosecuted over one of the 2014 affair, one of the biggest British corporate scandals in recent history.
Rogberg, 52, had been accused of knowing that income was being wrongly included in records to meet targets and make the world's third-largest supermarket group look in a better financial state than it really was.
But the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced it would not offer any evidence against him on one count of fraud and another of false accounting.
"It is a huge relief that this day has finally come," Rogberg said outside Southwark Crown Court in London.
"The trial has had enormous consequences on my health and exemplary career.
"This decision is so much more than simply an ...

Tesco finance director fraud case dropped

A French public health watchdog issued a warning Wednesday about the risks of several chemicals found in disposable nappies, particularly artificial perfumes, leading the government to demand that manufacturers withdraw them from their products.
The Anses health body stressed there was no medical study which had proved health problems caused by disposable diapers.
But "we cannot exclude a risk... because we have recorded some substances that are above healthy limits," the deputy director of the Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (Anses), Gerard Lasfargues, told AFP.
The chemicals identified in the study -- described as the first of its kind -- include two artificial perfumes as well as other complex aromatic products that are refined from oil, and potentially dangerous dioxins.
The French government called a meeting of nappy manufacturers on Wednesday morning and gave them 15 days to remove the products identified by the watchdog.
"I want to reassure ...

French watchdog sounds alert over chemicals in diapers

Britain remains a world-leading destination for foreign investment despite Brexit clouds and the departure of a number of companies, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said Wednesday.
Interviewed by AFP at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Fox also welcomed a proposal by Poland that could potentially unblock a problem surrounding the Irish border that is holding up a deal on Britain's exit from the European Union.
And with the risk looming of Britain crashing out of the EU in March without a deal, Fox said he expected soon to sign several pacts with trading partners outside Europe to try to ensure a seamless transition.
He shrugged off news that both Sony and appliance maker Dyson are shifting premises out of Britain, pointing to figures showing Britain has attracted more foreign investment than Germany and France combined since it voted to quit the EU in 2016.
"So clearly the UK is open for business and is an attractive destination for foreign direct investment -- and that ...

AFP

AFP

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