World news

• Jared Kushner heading to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in last ditch effort to resolve Gulf dispute

  29-11-2020 21:45 via independent.co.uk
  
  Jared Kushner will travel to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the next few days in an effort to resolve the ongoing dispute between the Gulf neighbours.
  
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• George Clooney says he's cut his hair 'for 25 years'

  29-11-2020 21:24 via independent.co.uk
  
  George Clooney is just like us, maybe
  
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• New York City mayor orders schools to reopen again from 7 December

  29-11-2020 20:47 via independent.co.uk
  
  New plan applies to younger children with no timetable for middle and high school students to return to classrooms
  
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• Protesters launch fireworks at police in Paris – video

  29-11-2020 19:09 via theguardian.com
  
  French security forces fire teargas at protesters marching against police violence in Paris on Saturday after masked activists launched fireworks at their lines, put up barricades and threw stones.Thousands rallied across France after video of police beating a black music producer fanned anger about a draft law that is seen as curbing the right of journalists to report on police brutalityFrench police caught on CCTV beating black music producer in his Paris studio – video Continue reading.
  
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• Spanish police seize two tonnes of drugs after high-speed boat chase

  29-11-2020 17:34 via independent.co.uk
  
  The chase lasted for five hours and spanned 100 nautical miles. 
  
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• Plan to boost big Swiss firms' liability fails in referendum

  29-11-2020 16:19
  GENEVA (AP) — A proposal to stiffen penalties against companies based in Switzerland if they violate human rights or harm the environment abroad failed in a Swiss referendum on Sunday. Voters were evenly divided on the initiative titled “Responsible companies — to protect people and the environment,” according to projections by SRF public television. But with votes from most areas counted, it failed...
  
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• German far-right airs divisions over leader's criticism

  29-11-2020 16:19
  
  BERLIN (AP) — A leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party on Sunday defended a speech in which he denounced “provocateurs,” called for discipline and questioned talk of a “corona dictatorship.” A bitter debate at a party convention over a motion to “condemn (co-leader Joerg) Meuthen’s divisive conduct” saw Alternative for Germany, or AfD, publicly air deep divisions before a national election expected next September. In the end,...
  
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• Court orders France to rethink 30-person limit on worship

  29-11-2020 16:19
  
  PARIS (AP) — France’s highest administrative court on Sunday ordered a rethink of a 30-person attendance limit for religious services put in place by the government to slow down the spread of coronavirus. The measure took effect this weekend as France relaxes some virus restrictions, but it faced opposition by places of worship and the faithful for being arbitrary and unreasonable. Even before the ruling, several bishops had announced they would not enforce the restrictions and some
  
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• Thai pro-democracy protesters rally outside army base

  29-11-2020 16:18
  BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s indefatigable pro-democracy activists took to Bangkok's streets again Sunday, this time to protest the army as they push forward with their campaign for sweeping reforms, including to the nation's monarchy. Around 800 protesters gathered in the afternoon and in early evening marched to the base of the 11th Infantry Regiment, which is closely associated with the country’s royal palace. Their number grew to well over 1,000 as they settled in for speeches
  
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• Pope, with new cardinals, warns church against mediocrity

  29-11-2020 16:18
  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, joined by the church’s newest cardinals in Mass on Sunday, warned against mediocrity as well as seeking out “godfathers” to promote one's own career. Eleven of the 13 new cardinals sat near the central altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, where Francis on Saturday had bestowed upon them the red hats symbolizing they are now so-called princes of the church. Two of the new cardinals couldn’t make it to Rome because of pandemic travel
  
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• Legal group to help Illinoisans clear marijuana convictions

  29-11-2020 16:18
  CHICAGO (AP) — A new legal group will help people with marijuana convictions in Illinois clear their records. New Leaf Illinois launched earlier this month as part of the state’s law...
  
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• ‘World’s loneliest elephant’ Kaavan starts trip to Cambodia

  29-11-2020 16:17
  Kaavan, dubbed the "world’s loneliest elephant" after languishing alone for years in a Pakistani zoo, was readied Sunday for his flight to a sanctuary in Cambodia and the much-needed company ......
  
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• UAE Government to Set Up New Cybersecurity Council, Prime Minister Says

  29-11-2020 16:17
  CAIRO (Sputnik) - The government of the United Arab Emirates has decided to establish a new national cybersecurity council, UAE Prime Minister and Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on Sunday following a cabinet meeting. ......
  
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• Mysterious silver monolith vanishes from Utah desert, officials say

  29-11-2020 16:17
  A mysterious monolith that created a furor after being discovered in a remote southern Utah desert has vanished, federal officials say. An “unknown party” removed the gleaming metal monolith Friday ......
  
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• Iran says it won’t ‘fall in trap’ of scuttling future US talks

  29-11-2020 16:17
  
  Written by Arsalan Shahla and Golnar Motevalli Iran vowed it won’t “fall into the trap” of scuppering any future talks with the incoming Biden government following the assassination of a top nuclear scientist. “Iran’s scientific and defense policies won’t change because of the assassination of one scientist or general,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement Sunday posted on the government’s official website. The Islamic Republic &ldqu
  
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• Dr Fauci urges Biden to ‘close the bars and keep the schools open’ amid alarming coronavirus spike

  29-11-2020 16:17 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘The default position should be to try as best as possible within reason to keep the children in school’
  
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• Dad is shot on Thursday — and again on Saturday — by daughter’s ex, Texas ...

  29-11-2020 16:17
  A father in Texas was shot twice in the same week by his daughter’s ex-boyfriend, police say. The man was fast asleep when between six and eight bullets tore through ......
  
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• Sydney records hottest November night as heatwave sweeps city

  29-11-2020 16:16
  
  Shares Sydney recorded its hottest November night as Australia's largest city suffered through a weekend heatwave that saw daytime temperatures peak above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The overnight temperature did not drop below 25.3 degrees Celsius Saturday into Sunday in central Sydney, according to the meteorology bureau, making it the hottest November night since records began. The...
  
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• Police probe why officer used tear gas on Polish lawmaker

  29-11-2020 16:15
  Polish police are studying video footage to understand why a police officer targeted a member of parliament with tear gas during a protest, a police official said Sunday. An officer sprayed Barbara Nowacka, a centrist opposition lawmaker,...
  
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• Jill Biden, Joe's chief protector, stepping up as first lady

  29-11-2020 16:15
  
  She's fended off protesters who made a run at her husband She's moved him farther from reporters during the coronavirus pandemic. She's supported his presidential ambitions again and again — except in 2004, when she deployed a novel messaging technique to keep Joe Biden from running. “No,” Jill Biden then clad in a bikini, wrote in Sharpie across her stomach and then marched through a...
  
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• Montenegro's incoming PM slams expulsion of Serbian diplomat

  29-11-2020 16:13
  PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro’s prime minister-designate on Sunday protested the outgoing government’s decision to expel the Serbian ambassador from the small Balkan country just days before the planned inauguration of a new, pro Serb Cabinet. “Such acts are not in the spirit of the European path and good regional cooperation of friendly countries,” Zdravko Krivokapic...
  
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• Live COVID-19 updates: Iran reports 12,950 COVID-19 cases, 948,749 in total

  29-11-2020 16:13
  
  BEIJING, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - - TEHRAN -- Iran announced on Sunday 12,950 COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, raising the...
  
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• Rescuers pull third body from Sardinian town buried by mud

  29-11-2020 16:09
  
  ROME (AP) — Rescuers on Sunday retrieved the body of an elderly woman, the...
  
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• F1 driver Grosjean escapes after horror crash at Bahrain GP

  29-11-2020 16:09
  SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Formula One driver Romain Grosjean appears to have escaped with burns after his car crashed and burst into flames...
  
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• Thousands flee as Jakarta volcano erupts spewing ash and smoke into sky

  29-11-2020 16:04
  A volcano has erupted in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara, forcing 2,700 residents to move to safety to avoid the spewing ash and smoke which is up to four kilometers in the sky ......
  
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• Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who slammed Trump, becomes the first African American cardinal

  29-11-2020 16:02
  Wilton Gregory would become the first Black U.S. prelate to earn the coveted red cap. ......
  
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• Trump loses another election court challenge

  29-11-2020 16:01
  A Republican lawsuit had sought to invalidate mail-in ballots in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that President-elect Joe Biden won by about 81,000 votes - or to throw out all votes and allow the state's legislature to decide the winner. ......
  
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• The Latest: Pope urges finding good even from pandemic

  29-11-2020 16:01
  Social distancing signs are seen on...
  
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• People weakest link for apps tracking coronavirus exposure

  29-11-2020 16:01
  The app builders had planned for pranksters, ensuring that only people with verified COVID-19 cases could trigger an alert. They�d planned for heavy criticism about privacy, in many cases making the features as bare-bones as possible. But, as more states roll out smartphone contact-tracing technology, other challenges are emerging. Namely, human nature. The problem starts with downloads. Stefano Tessaro calls it the �chicken-and-egg� issue: The system works only if a lot of
  
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• Mysterious monolith in US desert reportedly disappears

  29-11-2020 16:01
  The shiny, triangular pillar which protruded some 12 feet from the red rocks of southern Utah, was spotted on 18 November by baffled local officials counting bighorn sheep from the air. ......
  
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• Jamaicans who came to UK as children will be left off deportation flight

  29-11-2020 16:00
  Exclusive: Home Office quietly agrees deal with Jamaica amid outcry over charter plane A deal has been quietly agreed between the Home Office and Jamaica not to remove people who came to the UK as children on a controversial charter flight to the Caribbean island this week, its high commissioner has...
  
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• 'It's impossible': how Brexit has left British families unable to return to the UK

  29-11-2020 16:00
  
  Up to 40% of Britons in dual-national relationships likely to want to return fear they do not fulfil the income requirement What will change for Britons in the EU on 1 January? When Britain’s new immigration bill became law earlier this month, the home secretary, Priti Patel, tweeted her “delight,...
  
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• Iranian nuclear chief's body prepared for burial as anger focused on Israel and US

  29-11-2020 16:00
  
  Newspaper publishes comment urging retaliation with strike on Haifa that ‘causes heavy human casualties’ The body of Iran’s most senior nuclear scientist has been prepared for burial as anger at Israel and the US boiled over in the country following his assassination last week . Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s...
  
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• Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases pass 2.15 mln mark: Africa CDC

  29-11-2020 15:58
  ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the African continent has reached 2,150,439, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Sunday. The...
  
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• Center-right mayor faces socialist in Brazilian metropolis

  29-11-2020 15:57
  The mayor of the largest city in the Americas was trying to fend off a reelection challenge from the socialist leader of a squatters movement as 57 Brazilian cities held runoff elections on Sunday. Guilherme Boulos, backed by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, pushed his way into a surprising runoff with...
  
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• North Korea toughens rules of entry to sea to fight virus

  29-11-2020 15:56
  North Korea is further toughening restrictions on entering seawaters as part of elevated steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic, state media said Sunday, two days after South Korea said the North had banned sea fishing. North Korean army soldiers wearing face masks look at the South side during South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young's visit to Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea Source: Associated Press The...
  
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• Man shot and hospitalized when, police say, he ran toward them after hiding in a dumpster

  29-11-2020 15:55
  An investigation is under way after a St. Paul, Minnesota, police officer shot a man who had been hiding in a dumpster near a funeral home, authorities said. ......
  
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• Oman sends condolences to Iran after scientist killing

  29-11-2020 15:54
  
  DUBAI (Reuters) - The foreign minister of the Gulf state of Oman expressed his condolences to Iran's foreign minister by phone over the killing of Iran's top nuclear scientist on Friday, Oman state television said on Sunday. Read full story ......
  
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• Iran to give a 'calculated' response to nuclear scientist killing, says official

  29-11-2020 15:54
  
  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will give a...
  
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• Gaza gets vital medical aid as hospitals struggle with rising infections

  29-11-2020 15:54
  GAZA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization delivered 15 ventilators to Gaza hospitals on Sunday amid a spike in COVID-19 infections that has tested the Palestinian territory's under-developed health system. Read full story ......
  
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• Zimbabwe looks to potential $1.25bn cannabis exports to break forex drought

  29-11-2020 15:52
  Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services is one of the chief players in...
  
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• World's loneliest elephant in Pakistan departs for a new home in Cambodia

  29-11-2020 15:49
  Read full article ANI29 November 2020, 2:31 pm·2-min read Kaavan, also known as the world's loneliest elephant (Credit: Reuters Pictures) Islamabad [Pakistan], November 29 (ANI): Kaavan, an elephant which has spent 35 years at Islamabad's Marghazar zoo and had lost its partner some years ago, is being flown to Cambodia after a High Court ruling stated that conditions in this zoo were cruel. According to the Prime Minister's aide on climate change Malik Amin Aslam, Pakistan's only Asiatic
  
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• Muslims in Nepal hold anti-China protest demanding justice for Uyghur

  29-11-2020 15:49
  Read full article ANI29 November 2020, 2:31 pm·1-min read Muslims in Nepal held anti-China protests on Sunday demanding justice for Uyghur community in Xinjiang. Photo/ANI Pokhara [Nepal], November 29 (ANI): Muslims in Nepal on Sunday organised a protest against atrocities on Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China. The protesters raised voice against the demolition of thousands of mosques in Xinjiang and the treatment being meted out to them by the Chinese...
  
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• UK says Brexit trade talks with EU are in their 'last week'

  29-11-2020 15:48
  As talks continued between the two sides in London, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said "I think we are into the last week or so of substantive negotiations." ......
  
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• Key question in Cosby appeal: Does defendant's past matter?

  29-11-2020 15:48 via independent.co.uk
  
  In taking Bill Cosby's appeal of his sexual assault conviction, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appears eager to clear up the law on when a jury should hear about someone’s past
  
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• Faith takes the forefront in campaign for Georgia Senate run-offs

  29-11-2020 15:48
  Bishop Reginald Jackson stepped to the microphone at a drive-in rally outside a church in southwest Atlanta as his voice carried over a loudspeaker and the radio to people gathered in, around and on top of cars that filled the parking lot. Let’s keep Georgia blue,” Jackson said. Let’s elect Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock to the United States Senate. The presiding bishop of more than 400 African Methodist Episcopal churches in Georgia added a pastoral flourish as horns honked and s
  
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• Apple suppliers’ exodus from China won’t slow down under Joe Biden

  29-11-2020 15:48
  
  Apple Inc., the largest of the many tech giants...
  
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• Over 150 people nabbed in anti-lockdown protests in central London

  29-11-2020 15:44
  LONDON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- More than 150 people have been arrested after anti-lockdown demonstrators hurling bottles and charging through ranks of police officers in central London Saturday, local media reported Sunday. By 7:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) Saturday, London police had detained 155 people for a host...
  
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• Faith takes the forefront as Georgia Senate runoffs heat up

  29-11-2020 15:43
  ATLANTA (AP) — Bishop Reginald Jackson stepped to the microphone at a drive-in rally outside a church in southwest Atlanta as his voice carried over a loudspeaker and the radio to people gathered in, around and on top of cars ......
  
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• Indonesian volcano erupts forcing thousands to flee as ash and smoke spew four kilometres into sky

  29-11-2020 15:26 via independent.co.uk
  
  ‘Hot clouds, lava stream, lava avalanche, and poisonous gas’ likely, says country’s geological hazard centre
  
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