Trump says to run for re-election LONDON, July 15 (Reuters): U.S. President Donald Trump said he intends to run for re-election in 2020 because “everybody wants me to” and there are no Democratic candidates who could defeat him, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported. Asked by British journalist Piers Morgan in an interview given on Friday whether he was going to run in 2020, Trump was quoted by the Mail on Sunday as saying: “Well I fully intend to. It seems like everybody wants me to.” Trump said he did not see any Democrat who could beat him: “I don’t see anybody. I know them all and I don’t see anybody.” Mediterranean deaths top 1,400 this year: UN Rome, July 15 (IANS/AKI): A total of 1,422 migrants and refugees perished attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa this year, while 48,629 entered Europe, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN migration agency, said. Most of those who lost their lives in the Mediterranean this year from July 11 did so on the route from Libya to Italy - a total of 1,083 people - while 294 died in the Western Mediterranean, the IOM figures showed. This number of people reaching Europe by boat this year was less than half the 102,308 who arrived during the same period of 2017 and less than a quarter of the 239,492 who landed at the same point of 2016, according to IOM. Over 17mn babies born in China in 2017 Beijing, July 15 (IANS): Some 17.58 million babies were born in China last year, according to figures released on Sunday. According to the figures from the National Health Commission, about 51 per cent of the newborns were not the first child in their families, reports Xinhua news agency. In response to a rapidly aging population, China allowed married couples to have two children from 2016, ending its decades-long one-child policy. China also offered free pre-pregnancy health examinations to 11.73 million people nationwide in 2017 in an effort to reduce birth defect risks. Haitian PM resigns after fuel-price hikes triggered riots Port-au-Prince, July 15 (IANS): Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned on Saturday during a session in the lower house of the Parliament in which he was to have faced a no-confidence vote. The session was held after violent protests erupted last weekend over fuel-price hikes, which the government later scrapped, Efe reported. Once the Prime Minister’s resignation was announced, the speaker of the lower house, Gary Bodeau, posted a message on Twitter asking President Jovenel Moise “to choose a Prime Minister by general consent, bearing in mind the hopes of all sectors of national life.” Last July 6, the government announced an increase of between 37 and 50 per cent on the price of fuel. The price hike of fuel including kerosene, widely used to light the homes of Haitians with little purchasing power, sparked violent protests in the streets, in which several people were killed. The situation forced the government to drop the price increase the very next day. 33 injured after loss of cabin pressure forces emergency landing in Germany Berlin, July 15 (IANS): Thirty-three people were injured after the cabin of a Ryanair flight depressurized, leading the plane to plunge 9,000 meters and forcing an emergency landing at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, Germany’s Federal Police said on Saturday. Ryanair flight FR7312, which was carrying 189 passengers, was headed from Dublin to the Croatian city of Zadar on Friday when it suffered a sudden “in-flight depressurization”, forcing the crew to carry out an emergency landing, Efe quoted a Ryanair spokesperson as saying. According to German media, some of the passengers have already been released from the hospital, while others are still receiving medical attention. The “Flightradar24” webpage, a service that shows real-time flight information from around the world, registered how the Ryanair plane plunged from an altitude of 12,000 meters (more than 39,000 ft) to 3,000 meters (under 10,000 ft) in a matter of minutes. The airline has not yet announced the cause of the loss of cabin pressure. Girls allowed to wear shorts, pants in Australia school Sydney, July 15 (IANS): Girls in Australian schools will be allowed to wear shorts and pants next year as part of a major uniform update in line with their needs and preferences. “We know around 60 per cent of state schools are already offering these uniform options for girls but we found that some schools had not updated their student dress codes in many years,” Xinhua news agency quoted Queensland state Education Minister Grace Grace as saying on Sunday. “All Queensland girls should be able to engage in active play and classroom activities or ride their bikes to and from school without being restricted by what they’re wearing.” Chicago clashes after police kill black man Chicago, July 15 (IANS): Police in Chicago have clashed with protesters after an officer fatally shot a black man who was suspected of carrying a gun. A crowd of about 150 people shouted “murderers”, threw objects and jumped on police cars during the confrontation in Chicago’s South Side area, BBC reported. Officers armed with batons traded punches with the protesters, local media reports said. Three officers sustained minor injuries and there were four arrests. A string of police killings of black men, some unarmed, has caused outrage and led to protests in cities across the US, the report said. The dead man’s identity has not yet been released but he was thought to be aged in his 30s. A police statement said officers on patrol in the South Shore district saw the man “exhibiting the characteristics of an armed person”. “An armed confrontation ensued resulting in an officer discharging his weapon and fatally striking the offender,” the statement said, adding that police recovered a gun and two ammunition magazines at the scene.
