Category: English

US Secretary of State ​Marco Rubio will travel to India on Tuesday, days after President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on US ‌imports from the world’s largest democracy as the two countries seek to finalize a trade deal. During the two-day visit to Mumbai and Jamnagar in western India, Rubio is slated to meet government and business leaders, including Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and billionaire Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, which ​operates the world’s largest refining complex at Jamnagar. Rubio and other officials have said in recent days that a…

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US President Donald Trump has claimed that Paris will become a “Muslim city very soon” as he blamed immigration for unrest in France and urged the country to close its borders. Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump said he had warned French President Emmanuel Macron that allowing people from around the world to enter France was a mistake. “Paris is going to be a Muslim city very soon, and that wasn’t the deal,” Trump said, adding that he had advised Macron to close France’s borders. “We closed our borders. He…

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Yemeni government forces have captured new positions in Taiz as they intensify their offensive against Houthi fighters, carrying out 1,164 strikes and neutralising 558 militia members over the past 24 hours, a military spokesperson said. Majed Al Nuzaili, spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, on Monday said government troops had forced Houthi fighters to retreat under heavy air and artillery support as part of Operation Dawn of Yemen. The operations also destroyed or damaged 135 Houthi military vehicles and pieces of equipment, targeting troop concentrations, reinforcements, fortifications and supply routes,…

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Oil-rich Alberta was holding a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, ​a debate many believe will not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause. Polls have consistently shown ‌that a majority of Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada. Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas but with one-sixth of the US state’s population. The Alberta separatist movement adds to the…

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French authorities set curfews in parts of several cities on Monday, including Paris, Lille and Nice, as they faced pressure over security failings after a weekend of riots and looting stemming ​from nationwide anti-government protests. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu had ruled out a blanket curfew in Paris but not a state of emergency, and had said it was more appropriate for now to ‌apply partial and localised curfews. “My determination to restore order is absolute,” he told reporters. Paris police said they had issued orders barring protests in certain areas…

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The Portuguese Football Federation handed Cristiano Ronaldo a 30-day suspension and a €255 ($285) fine for walking out of the national team camp, describing the punishment as “adequate and sufficient”. The federation said on Monday that the 40-year-old forward fully admitted the facts underlying the charges in a formal statement submitted on Friday. His admission and clean disciplinary record were taken into account as mitigating circumstances, reducing the punishment. The fine was the maximum permitted under the federation’s rules after those circumstances were considered. Ronaldo can appeal the suspension but…

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OpenAI is racing to secure investor commitments before rival Anthropic’s expected public market debut in mid-November, in an unusually fast fundraising round that could value the ChatGPT maker at over $1.4 trillion, according to two ​people familiar with the matter. The rapid timetable reflects, in part, a desire to get ahead of Anthropic as the two frontier labs are increasingly tapping into a similar investor base, the ‌people said, adding that OpenAI wants to capitalise on its recent revenue growth after launching new models. SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX and…

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The car that struck an independent Australian lawmaker outside her office had ​performed a U-turn before hitting her, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, describing the incident as clearly intentional. Helen ‌Haines underwent surgery overnight and remained in critical condition after she was struck by a white Toyota Land Cruiser in Wangaratta, around three hours’ drive northeast of Melbourne, on Monday. Australian media, citing unidentified sources, reported Haines had lost one leg as a result of her injuries and that doctors were working ​to save the other leg. “It’s…

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President Donald ‌Trump’s approval rating fell to a record low as Americans worried about high gasoline prices and appeared ready to punish his Republican Party in the November 3 congressional elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. Some 31% of Americans approve of Trump’s ​performance in office, down a percentage point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level in ​either of his presidential terms, the four-day poll showed. Asked which party they would vote ⁠for if the congressional elections were held today in what is known…

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Oil prices fell on Tuesday as markets ​weighed an executive order from US President Donald Trump that waived some sanctions and ‌tariffs tied to Russian energy exports, while attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen kept fears of Middle East supply disruptions in view. Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.45%, to $109.06 a barrel. ​The US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) contract for November delivery, set to expire on ​Tuesday, eased 0.33% to $103.32. The more-active December contract was down 46 cents, or ⁠0.47%, at $98.08. Brent rose as…

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