| | | Today marks 100 days until Brexit, and the United Kingdom is on the brink of leaving the European Union without a divorce deal. This would be a nightmare scenario for many businesses. The heads of Britain’s five biggest business lobby groups have said some businesses are triggering contingency plans, though hundreds of thousands have yet to start planning. Makers of Scotch whisky, Britain biggest food and drink export, have said it is imperative that lawmakers work quickly to avoid crashing out of the European Union without a deal. | |
The European Union has agreed to ban throw-away plastics by 2021. Negotiators from the European Parliament and the 28 EU countries agreed a list of 10 single-use plastic products with readily available alternatives that will be banned, including cotton buds, cutlery and straws. Producers of tobacco filters containing plastic will also have to cover the costs for public collection of cigarette stubs. | |
Commentary: Yemen peace efforts miss a critical factor. Yemen's warring parties made encouraging progress in their latest peace talks. But their efforts overlook a critical strategy - the inclusion of women, write Council on Foreign Relations' senior fellows Jamille Bigio and Rachel Vogelstein. "Research suggests that when women participate in a peace process, the resulting agreement is 64 percent less likely to fail and 35 percent more likely to last at least 15 years." | |
| | Aung San Suu Kyi was once a global hero. Today, her reputation is tarnished. What happened? A Nobel Peace Prize winner, she emerged from years of house arrest a near-mythical figure and was swept into power in a landslide 2015 election. Reuters speaks to friends, advisers, diplomats and long-time observers of Myanmar’s leader in a virtual history of her life. | |
| Two @Reuters journalists have been imprisoned in Myanmar since Dec. 12, 2017. See our full coverage: https://reut.rs/2Eu9FL6 12:14 AM - 19 Dec 2018 |
| | Farmers and headers are gripped in conflict in Nigeria's Middle Belt. The country's growing population and government efforts to diversify the economy away from reliance on oil has caused massive expansion of farming, cutting access to grazing land for nomadic herders. This is fuelling persistent violence as they vie for resources. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, clashes have killed more people in 2018 than the conflict involving Boko Haram. | |
Dozens have been killed in ethnic clashes in Congo. Fighting in the northwestern province of Mai-Ndombe is some of the worst violence to hit the normally peaceful part of the country. It comes days before Sunday’s long-delayed presidential election, which many fear could turn violent. | |
South Africa issues arrest warrant for Grace Mugabe over an alleged assault. Zimbabwe’s former first lady allegedly assaulted model Gabriella Engels with an electric cable in an upmarket district of Johannesburg last year. Mrs Mugabe was seen as a potential successor to her 94-year-old husband Robert, who ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 until he was ousted in a coup late last year. | |
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