France‘s foreign minister said they will not be granting former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden asylum because ”it is not the time”. The whistleblower, who has been living in Russia to escape US prosecution, had said he would “love to see” Emmanuel Macron allow him to live in France. He unsuccessfully…

The Prime Minister will not be bound by an “artificial deadline” to produce formal written proposals to resolve the Brexit deadlock, the Government has said. Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, following talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, said Boris Johnson should outline its Brexit plans to the EU by the end of September. But a UK Government spokesman said proposals would be put forward “when we are ready” and when Brussels is willing to “engage constructively on them”. Number 10 also confirmed that the UK had now shared, in written form, a series of “confidential technical non-papers” which reflect the ideas the UK has been putting forward. Brexit Secretary @SteveBarclay…

Global child and maternal deaths have fallen sharply in recent decades, but new UN statistics released on Thursday show unequal progress, with more than five childbirths a minute ending in tragedy. Two reports by several United Nations’ agencies showed clear global progress in reducing the number of pregnant women or new mothers and young children who die each year, pointing to improved access to affordable, quality health services. “In countries that provide everyone with safe, affordable, high-quality health services, women and babies survive and thrive,” World Health Organization chief Tedros…

But both Washington and Riyadh have ruled that out and pinned the blame on Saudi’s arch-foe Iran. PARIS: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday that a claim by Yemeni rebels that they carried out attacks on two Saudi oil facilities “lacks credibility”. “The Huthis, who are Yemeni rebels,…

A Dutch town is to bestow a unique honorary citizenship on more than 300 British soldiers who died fighting to free the Netherlands during the Second World War. The special honour will be granted to the 328 men buried in the Commonwealth and War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery in Brunssum to mark the 75th anniversary of the town’s liberation. More than 100 of the solders’ relatives will travel from the UK, and as far afield as Australia and Canada, to attend a ceremony on Thursday. Honorary citizenship is Brunssum’s highest municipal honour, with only 15 citizens having received it in past decades, and this will be the first time it has been awarded posthumously. The…

The foreign ministers from the signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) may meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Thursday. According to the spokesman, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany have recently suggested holding a meeting of the foreign ministers from JCPOA countries, although it was supposed to take place before the UNGA. “Considering the circumstances at the moment, this meeting might happen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly if the Iranian delegation comes to New York”, Mousavi told the outlet Khabar Online. The 74th session of the General Assembly began Tuesday….

Rapper Tekashi69 has testified that he ordered a hit on his rival Chief Keef amid the ongoing racketeering case against members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods gang. The 23-year-old born Daniel Hernandez is currently testifying against Anthony “Hary” Ellison and Aliermiah “Nuke” Mack in an effort to have his own prison sentence reduced. According to a report in The Blast, Hernandez described how he ordered a hit on Chief Keef in 2018, testifying that he offered a gunman $20,000 to carry it out. After it proved unsuccessful, he allegedly cut the fee to $10,000. We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis…

Since August 5, when India scrapped Article 370, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s obsession with Kashmir has reached unprecedented levels and it is visible most prominently in his tweets. Of the 95 times he has tweeted since August 5 (till September 12), 71 tweets have reference to India, 56 contain the words Kashmir or Kashmiris and 19 mention Modi. Apart from this, he has made a special speech on Kashmir in Pakistan’s national assembly and used the country’s Independence Day to speak about India and its PM for more than 30 minutes. I welcome the EU’s call in the Human Rights Council for a…

INTERNATIONAL – Huawei [HWT.UL] launches what could be the world’s most powerful and feature-packed 5G smartphone later today, but the fate of the device in Europe will hang on whether it can overcome a U.S. ban to give customers the Google software they expect. The Chinese telecoms giant will showcase its Mate 30 range in Munich, Germany, in its first unveiling of an all-new phone since President Donald Trump hit the Shenzhen-based company with an export ban in May. “The launch will be the most watched ever,” said telecoms and media analyst…

London: British Airways pilots have called off a strike planned for September 27 over a dispute with the airline on the pay hike. This comes after the union said that the action taken earlier this month had “demonstrated the anger and resolve of pilots.” “It was now time for a period…