Blair plans 'farewell tour' to US and Europe

Tony Blair will use the remaining weeks of his premiership for a "farewell tour" to several countries around the world, it was reported on Thursday.
Blair, who is due to announce plans for his departure from office as Labour Party leader and prime minister on Thursday, would go to Paris for a meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy, France's President-elected on Friday.
Next week, Blair is planning his last visit to Washington to meet with US President George W Bush, his friend and ally in the Iraq war.
Later in May, Blair is expected to head to Africa to underline his commitment to the global fight against poverty.
He would visit South Africa and several other countries, reports said.
In June, Blair is expected to wind up his premiership with two crucial international meetings: the G8 world economic summit in Germany and the European Council summit in Brussels.
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North Korean Parliament to discuss anti epidemic policy, rural development
North Korea will convene two key meetings, including one to review the country's anti-epidemic policy, in coming weeks, state media said on Monday, as it claims no new COVID-19 cases since late July. The North Korean Supreme People's Assembly, the isolated state's rubber-stamp parliament, will meet on Sept. 7 to discuss law on rural development and organizational matters, according to the official KCNA.
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Over 600 kids strip searched by London police, mostly black boys: New data
London's under-fire police force strip-searched more than 600 children over a two-year period, most of them black boys, according to new data released Monday. England's commissioner for children, Rachel de Souza, said she was "deeply shocked" by the figures after obtaining them from the Metropolitan police. The 15-year-old black schoolgirl was strip-searched by female officers in 2020 after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis, despite them being aware she was menstruating.
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Israel and Palestinian militants declare Gaza truce
The three-day clashes echoed preludes to previous Gaza wars, though they were relatively contained as Hamas, the governing Islamist group in the Gaza Strip and a more powerful force than Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad, had so far stayed out.
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Five more killed in Gaza amid truce reports: Health ministry
Five more people were killed in Gaza on Sunday evening, the enclave's health ministry said, amid reports a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants may be imminent. "Thirty-six martyrs, among them 11 children and four women, and 311 injured," the health ministry said, raising the death toll in the Palestinian enclave from 31 since fighting began on Friday.
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China keeps up pressure on Taiwan with fourth day of drills
China said Sunday it carried out its fourth consecutive day of military drills in the air and sea around Taiwan in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the self-ruled island, despite international calls to calm the tensions. The People's Liberation Army said the exercises focused on testing its long-range air and ground strikes. It did not say if it will continue the drills after Sunday.