by Jennie Matthew Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A fire tore through a Bronx apartment building on Thursday, killing at least 12 people, including a toddler, and leaving four others fighting for their lives in New York’s deadliest blaze in decades. The fire broke out around 6:51pm (2351 GMT) in a 25-apartment building near the Bronx Zoo, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the US financial capital. A one-year-old […]
North America
Trump ‘disappointed’ in China over NKorea sanctions
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump — who has often hailed China’s efforts to put pressure on North Korea — hit out at Beijing Thursday for failing to cut off Pyongyang’s oil supply, saying such moves prevented a “friendly solution” of the crisis. “Caught RED HANDED – very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea,” Trump said on Twitter. “There will never be a friendly solution to the […]
Alabama Democrat officially declared winner in US Senate race
by Chris Lefkow Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democrat Doug Jones was formally declared the winner of the bitterly contested US Senate race in the southern state of Alabama on Thursday, whittling down the Republican majority in the chamber by a crucial seat. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill certified the results of the December 12 special election and dismissed claims of voter fraud by the campaign of the defeated Republican candidate, Roy […]
New York mobster jailed two years after heist acquittal
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Two years after he was sensationally acquitted of murder and the 1978 Lufthansa heist, New York mobster Vincent Asaro finally got his comeuppance Thursday, sentenced to eight years for arson. Asaro, 82 — a capo from the Bonanno organized crime family — now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars for ordering an arson attack on a car in 2012. In June, Asaro, whose […]
Tillerson defends foreign policy record at year’s end
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The United States’ top diplomat defended his country’s foreign policy record on Wednesday, saying progress had been made in the last year to rein in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and to counter the “immense challenges” posed by Russia, China and Iran. In an opinion piece in the New York Times, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said some 90 percent of Pyongyang’s export earnings had been cut off by a series of international […]
Chicago murder rate declines but still alarmingly high
by Nova Safo Agence France-Presse CHICAGO, United States — After years away, Anthony Davis returned home to Chicago last year to take care of his elderly father. The predominantly African-American neighborhood on the city’s south side where the 51-year-old Davis grew up was unrecognizable. Abandoned homes dot the landscape and the once vibrant community had fallen prey to the gun violence plaguing America’s third-largest city. “Growing up, there was really hardly any shootings,” Davis, who […]
US, Germany urge China to release jailed activist
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The United States and Germany urged China to free an outspoken government critic known as “Super Vulgar Butcher” on Wednesday after he was sentenced to eight years in prison. Wu Gan, who refused to plead guilty to charges of “subverting state power,” was on Tuesday handed one of the harshest punishments meted out to a group of lawyers and activists swept up in a major crackdown two years ago. “The embassies […]
Guatemala: Jerusalem embassy move a ‘sovereign’ decision
by Edgar Calderon Agence France-Presse GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) – Guatemala on Tuesday said its decision to follow the US in moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was a “sovereign” matter that should not affect ties with other countries. “These are Guatemala’s foreign policy and sovereign decisions,” Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel told a news conference. “In any case, we are open to being able to converse with countries that see it as such, but I don’t […]
Golf: Els still trying to qualify after honorary Masters invite
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Four-time major winner Ernie Els clarified his status for the 2018 Masters on Tuesday, saying he is still working to qualify after receiving an honorary invitation to Augusta National next April. A five-year qualifying spot in the Masters from his 2012 British Open triumph ended this year for the 48-year-old South African. Els received an honorary invitation to appear at Augusta National during Masters week in 2018 rather than being granted […]
2017 Mexico’s most violent year in two decades: officials
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — 2017 was Mexico’s most violent year in two decades, with 23,101 murders carried out between January and November, according to official figures released Friday. The number of murders in the first 11 months of this year surpassed the previous record of 22,409 killings during the whole of 2011. In November alone, 2,212 murders were recorded — while 2,380 killings were carried out in October, making it the most violent month since the […]
Defying Trump threat, UN rejects US decision on Jerusalem
by Carole Landry Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Defying President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off funding, the United Nations approved by a resounding vote on Thursday a motion rejecting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The 193-member General Assembly adopted the resolution by 128 to nine with 35 abstentions, in what Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour called a “massive setback” for the United States. An additional 21 countries did not turn […]
YouTube prankster pleads guilty to fatally shooting boyfriend
by Nova Safo Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A YouTube prankster from the US state of Minnesota has admitted to fatally shooting her boyfriend in a botched video stunt she hoped would go viral. Monalisa Perez, a 20-year-old mother-of-two, believed her husband Pedro Ruiz would be shielded by a thick book as she took aim from close range in front of onlookers. She pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree manslaughter and agreed to […]





