A heavy goods vehicle caught fire during the night of Monday to Tuesday on the port bypass of Calais, after trying to break through a burning dam installed by migrants. According to one source, the truck driver was also attacked. Very slightly injured, he was taken to the hospital for treatment. Source: France3
Geostrategic Countries
French Prime Minister has announced plans to punish people who hold unsanctioned protests after seven weeks of anti-government unrest. His government wants to draft new legislation that will ban troublemakers from protests and clamp down on the wearing of masks at demonstrations. He said 80,000 members of the security forces would be deployed for the next expected wave of protests. Source: BBC
“We will return to the polls but through the distributor,” announced Facebook on January 7 Maxime Nicolle, aka “Fly Rider”, one of the most media figures of yellow vests. This call is not trivial and begins to spread on social networks. The operation is called the “tax collectors’ referendum” and consists of going simultaneously to the ATMs to get the most out of their wealth. “Many people will withdraw their money from banks. Source: Capital
Xi’s speech was made at a meeting of top officials from the Central Military Commission (CMC), which he heads, and broadcast later on national television.
“All military units must correctly understand major national security and development trends, and strengthen their sense of unexpected hardship, crisis and battle,” he said.
China is keen to beef up its armed forces amid territorial disputes in the South China Sea and escalating tension with the United States over issues ranging from trade to the status of Taiwan. Source South China Morning Post
- Auto sales in China fell 3 percent in 2018 — their first decline in about two decades, according to China auto consulting firm ZoZoGo.
- It was a mild introduction to even more pain coming for automakers doing business in Asia this year.
- ZoZoGo sees an even bigger drop coming in 2019. Source CNBC
Spanish coastguards rescued 401 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean over the first two days of the new year. The news comes just days after a charity rescue vessel carrying 311 mainly African migrants plucked off the coast of Libya docked in Spain, ending a traumatic journey which saw them spend Christmas at sea. Source RTE
One of the leaders of the “yellow vest” anti-government demonstrations, Eric Drouet, was detained by French police and placed in custody on Wednesday for organizing a central Paris protest without declaring it, according to a source at the prosecutors office. Source Voice of America
Seoul crossed out a reference to nuclear-armed North Korea as its enemy in a defence white paper published Tuesday (Jan 15), amid rapidly warming ties despite stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington. Source: Channel NewsAsia
A fireman who joined France’s Yellow Vest protest movement is in a coma after being shot in the head ‘like a rabbit’ by a police officer using a controversial flash ball gun. Source: Daily Mail
Senior administration officials told The New York Times that several times over the course of 2018, Mr. Trump privately said he wanted to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Source: The New York Times
A South African province attempted to create 100 new positions in a doctor training program that would be reserved for black candidates only. The quota, which was not met due to recruiting problems, has been criticized as racist. Source: RT
A Spanish humanitarian group dedicated to saving migrants at sea said Monday that one of its rescue ships was denied permission to set sail from the port of Barcelona. Source: Washington Post
In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency in New Delhi on Wednesday, Chief of Staff of Japanese Self-Defense Forces, Katsutoshi Kawano commented about tensions between China and the US and its impact on Japan’s internal security. Source: Tasnim News
Eminent geneticist James Watson has had the last of his honorary titles stripped from him after doubling down on controversial statements about race and intelligence. Source: Independent
Police said the man was a 25-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker, who had come to the hospital to visit the woman. The man stabbed the woman repeatedly after they got into what police described as a “violent argument. Source: Deutsche Welle
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has praised Brazil’s new government for its support in extraditing an Italian ex-communist militant, who went on the run for almost 30 years after four murders were committed in the 1970s. Source: RT
The European Union should consider regulating to stop member states from poaching each other’s doctors and other professionals, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said. Source: Channel News Asia
The British government is considering scrapping jail sentences of 6 months or less for most crimes in a bid to reduce reoffending and ease pressure on the system, the prisons minister said on Saturday, January 12. Source: Rappler
The workforce in 2040 is projected to be 20 percent smaller than in 2017 due to overall population decline if the economy sees no growth and women and the elderly continue to have difficulty landing jobs, according to government study released Tuesday. Source: Japan Times
In 2018, Chinese FDI in the United States fell to just $4.8 billion — a massive decline from $29 billion in 2017 and $46 billion in 2016, according to independent researcher the Rhodium Group. Source: CNBC
German gross domestic product grew 1.5 percent in 2018, compared with 2.2 percent in 2017, the latest data from the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) showed. Source: CNBC
Angela Merkel’s replacement as leader of Germany’s Christian Democrats has criticised the country’s leading environmental organisations for leading “crusades” against diesel cars, as she attempts to put distance between herself and her predecessor. Source: The Guardian
Shares fell in Asia on Monday, extending the latest losses on Wall Street, as China reported a sharp slowdown in exports. Source: MarketWatch
Several Chinese electronics retailers including Alibaba-backed Suning and JD.com have slashed iPhone prices this week, after Apple recently blamed poor sales of the smartphone in the country for a rare revenue warning. Source: The Economic Times
One of Japan’s largest banks has blamed Brexit for its decision to move part of its business to Amsterdam, 24 hours after Theresa May sought to enlist the Japanese prime minister in the fight to save her deal with the EU. Source: The Guardian
The Spanish affiliate of the telecoms giant has justified the measures due to market conditions, with more and more customers opting for “low-cost” packages. Source: El País
Ford said on Thursday it will cut thousands of jobs, exit unprofitable markets and discontinue loss-making vehicle lines as part of a turnaround effort aimed at achieving a 6 percent operating margin in Europe. Source: CNBC
Turkey’s daily natural gas consumption reached a historic record high at 245 million cubic meters on Jan. 8, the energy minister said on Jan. 9. Source: Hurriyet Daily
The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said he’s concerned that any more interest-rate increases could push the U.S. economy into a recession. Source: Bloomberg
