Month: February 2019

Nissan announced Sunday it has cancelled plans to make its X-Trail SUV in the UK — a sharp blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May, who fought to have the model built in northern England as she sought to shore up confidence in the British economy after it leaves the European Union. Nissan said it will consolidate production of the next generation X-Trail at its plant in Kyushu, Japan, where the model is currently produced, allowing the company to reduce investment costs in the early stages of the project. That reverses a decision in late 2016 to build the SUV …

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The newly elected head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church has officially assumed office in the capital of Kiev, a month after the church severed its centuries-long ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Epiphanius I, 40, was enthroned during a lavish service at St. Sophia Cathedral in central Kiev on Sunday, a month after the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople granted independence to a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is running for re-election in the country’s March 31 presidential race, and his arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko both attended the ceremony. In Moscow, the Russian Orthodox Church …

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Pope Francis has made dialogue with Islam one of the cornerstones of his papacy. Since he became pope in 2013, he has visited several countries with large Muslim populations. On Sunday he will become the first Pope to go to the Arabian Peninsula when he visits the United Arab Emirates. Pope Francis was invited by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to take part in an interfaith conference. The pope will spend less than 48 hours in the United Arab Emirates and is due to make only two public addresses during his visit. Pope Francis released a …

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Pope Francis arrived in the United Arab Emirates Sunday ahead of an interreligious conference.   The leader of the world’s Roman Catholics, is making the first-ever trip by a pope to the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam. He returns to Rome Tuesday. Before leaving the Vatican, Francis said he had been following the humanitarian crisis in Yemen with great worry and urged all sides to respect international agreements and ensure food reaches suffering Yemenis. ‘Human Fraternity Meeting’ Francis and Sheik Ashamed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam will speak Monday at the …

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It would be irresponsible for the European Union to refuse to reopen negotiations over Britain’s exit deal, British trade minister Liam Fox said in an interview aired Sunday. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is seeking changes to the Withdrawal Agreement she agreed to with Brussels last year in order to win the support of parliament.  The EU has said the deal cannot be renegotiated. “Are they really saying that they would rather not negotiate and end up in a ‘no-deal’ position?” Fox told Sky News in a prerecorded interview. “It is in all our interests to get …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday suspended the Cold War-era Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in response to a similar move by the United States on Friday. “The American partners have declared that they suspend their participation in the deal. We suspend it as well,” Putin announced during a televised meeting with foreign ministers and military brass. The U.S. vowed to withdraw from the INF Treaty in six months unless Moscow ended what it called violations of the landmark 1987 arms control pact. Putin said Russia would start work on creating new missiles, including hypersonic weapons, and told ministers not …

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The United States and Russia are making tit-for-tat moves with their participation in a nuclear treaty, and some politicians and analysts see it as a burgeoning arms race. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Saturday that Russia is suspending its participation in the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The Russian move follows similar action Friday by the U.S. …

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