Fearing "Act IV" of unrest, France to close Eiffel Tower, Louvre, at weekend
France will close the Eiffel Tower and other tourism landmarks in Paris and draft in thousands more security forces on Saturday (Dec 6) to stave off another wave of violent protests in the country over living costs.
With protesters from the "yellow vest" movement calling on social media for "Act IV" - a fourth weekend of protest - Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said 89,000 police nationwide would be deployed to stop a repeat of last Saturday's (Dec 1) mayhem across France.
About 8,000 of these would be deployed in Paris where rioters torched cars and looted shops off the famed Champs Elysees boulevard, and defaced the Arc de Triomphe with graffiti directed at President Emmanuel Macron.
Canada PM says government played no role in Huawei executive's arrest
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday(Dec 6) said his government had no involvement in the arrest of a top executive from Chinese technology giant Huawei, who was detained at Vancouver airport.
Trudeau said Ottawa had been given a few days' advance notice about the plan to arrest Meng Wanzhou, who faces extradition to the United States. He declined to give further details, given that Meng faces a bail hearing on Friday (Dec 7).
The news pummelled stock markets already nervous about increased tension between the United States and China and prompted experts to predict that an angry Beijing would retaliate against Canada.
George H.W. Bush, former US president and 'Gampy,' mourned by family
Former US President George H.W. Bush's family took center stage at his funeral at a Houston church on Thursday (Dec 6), with grandsons who knew him better as"Gampy" serving as honorary pallbearers and his granddaughters reading from the Bible.
Bush, the 41st US president, died last week in Texas at age 94. His remains were flown to Texas on Wednesday evening after a state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral attended by US President Donald Trump, the four living former US presidents and foreign leaders.
The service began at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, where Bush worshipped for more than 50 years, with more than 1,000 attendees singing "America the Beautiful." The flag-draped casket was carried in soon after.
Politics, race, music dominate Golden Globe film nominations
Movies about race, politics and music dominated nominations for the Golden Globe awards on Thursday (Dec 6), setting the stage for a lively Hollywood awards season leading up to the Oscars in February.
Dark comedy Vice, a scathing look at the rise to power of former US Vice President Dick Cheney, led all comers with six nods.
It was followed by the Lady Gaga musical remake of A Star is Born, British historical comedy The Favourite and road trip movie through 1960s segregated America Green Book with five nods apiece.
US trade deficit hits 10-year high; job growth slowing
Other data on Thursday (Dec 6) showed private employers hired fewer workers than expected in November, pointing to a moderation in the pace of job growth. That was reinforced by another report showing a small decline in the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits last week.
The reports added to weak housing and business spending on equipment data in signaling a slowdown in economic growth. Concerns over the health of the economy have roiled financial markets in recent days.
