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  Italy PM struggles to keep govt afloat

  Agence France-Presse . Rome | Updated at 10:21pm on January 15, 2021

  Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte was battling Thursday to keep his government afloat after a junior coalition partner pulled out, sparking a political crisis in the middle of a raging pandemic...

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  Dutch government collapses over benefits scandal

  Agence France-Presse. The Hague | Updated at 07:09pm on January 15, 2021

  Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte's government resigned on Friday over a child benefits scandal, media reported, threatening political turmoil as the country battles the coronavirus...

• Concerns as India to roll out home-grown vaccine

  Agence France-Presse . Bhopal, India | Updated at 01:46pm on January 15, 2021

  A home-grown coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out in India from Saturday even though clinical trials haven’t been completed. But the government insists it will...

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  World facing ‘catastrophic’ warming: UN

  Agence France-Presse . Geneva | Updated at 12:04pm on January 15, 2021

  The world is on course for a ‘catastrophic’ temperature rise this century, the United Nations said on Thursday as it confirmed that 2020 rivalled 2016...

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  Doctor who declared Trump ‘healthiest’ president ever dies

  Agence France-Presse . New York | Updated at 11:45am on January 15, 2021

  President Donald Trump’s former personal doctor — who claimed Trump had dictated a letter insisting he would be the ‘healthiest’ president ever — has died,...

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  North Korea shows off new submarine-launched missile

  Agence France-Presse . Seoul | Updated at 10:53am on January 15, 2021

  Nuclear-armed North Korea unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile at a military parade in Pyongyang, state media reported on Friday, in a show of strength...

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  Biden pledges ‘new chapter’ but Trump impeachment trial looms

  Agence France-Presse . Wilmington, United States | Updated at 10:46am on January 15, 2021

  President-elect Joe Biden unveiled plans on Thursday for fighting COVID-19 and injecting $1.9 trillion into a battered US economy, but already his ambitious first 100...

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  Indonesia quake kills 42, topples buildings

  Agence France-Presse . Jakarta | Updated at 10:20am on January 15, 2021

  A powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia’s Sulawesi island Friday, killing at least 42 people, levelling a hospital and severely damaging other buildings, authorities said, as they...

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  WHO team arrives in Wuhan for virus investigation

  Agence France-Presse . Wuhan | Updated at 01:11am on January 15, 2021

  A team of experts from the World Health Organisation arrived in Wuhan Thursday to probe the origins of the coronavirus more than a year after...

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  Sri Lanka revives port deal with India, Japan

  Agence France-Presse . Colombo | Updated at 01:01am on January 15, 2021

  Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday announced the revival of an Indian and Japanese investment project to develop a deep-sea terminal in Colombo harbour,...