International

Pentagon to keep 5,500 troops at Mexico border

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Defense Department said Tuesday that it would keep up to 5,500 troops deployed at the Mexican border for the coming year to help combat illegal immigration. A week after announcing it would divert $3.6 billion in funds for the construction of an anti-migrant wall on the frontier, the Pentagon said it had also approved a request from the Department of Homeland Security to maintain a troop presence […]

Trump fires national security chief Bolton

  WASHINGTON, DC (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the firing of his hawkish national security advisor John Bolton, saying he disagreed “strongly” with his positions, in the latest upheaval for US foreign policy. “I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning,” Trump announced on Twitter, saying he would name a replacement next week. Bolton, who had been due to give a press conference at the White House […]

New era at Alibaba as Jack Ma rides into the sunset

by Dan Martin SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Jack Ma steps aside on Tuesday as chairman of Alibaba, ending a spectacularly successful 20-year run during which the charismatic former English teacher’s e-commerce company left a profound impact on China’s economy. Ma, who turns 55 on Tuesday, hands the reins of the company he co-founded to a team of executives led by CEO Daniel Zhang. Ma intends to put his $41 billion fortune toward philanthropic projects such […]

Hong Kong leader tells US not to ‘interfere’ after fresh protests

by Jasmine LEUNG / Sean GLEESON HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s embattled leader warned the United States on Tuesday not to “interfere” with her government’s response to the city’s pro-democracy movement, after fresh protests called on Washington to ramp up pressure on Beijing. Millions of people have demonstrated over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China’s rule of the financial hub since its handover from Britain in 1997. Protesters took […]

Typhoon stranded 17,000 at Tokyo airport: operator

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Around 17,000 passengers were stranded overnight at Tokyo’s Narita Airport, an official said Tuesday, after it took a direct hit from a powerful typhoon that caused transport chaos throughout the capital. The typhoon caused more than 100 flights to be scrapped and road and rail links to the airport were also badly affected, leaving many with no transport options to the city — 70 kilometers (45 miles) to the west. Airport […]

UK PM insists he will not ask for Brexit delay despite new law

by Alice RITCHIE with Joe STENSON in Dublin LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday insisted he would not ask for a Brexit delay despite the approval of a new law that could force him to do so, as MPs prepared to vote against holding an early election next month. Johnson said that if MPs refused to support his call for an election then he would go to an EU […]

N. Korea fires ‘projectiles’ after offering talks with US

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Tuesday fired projectiles toward the sea, South Korea’s military said, hours after Pyongyang said it is willing to hold working-level talks with the United States in late September. Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been gridlocked since a second summit between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February ended without a deal. North Korea twice launched “unidentified projectiles” Tuesday morning in an […]

Labor report alleges violations by China iPhone supplier

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — Apple and its supplier Foxconn admitted they have been using too many temporary workers to staff an iPhone factory in central China, as a labour rights group accused them Monday of a number of workers rights violations. China Labor Watch said it had its investigators working inside the factory in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou — which makes around half of the iPhones produced worldwide — assessing working conditions […]

British Airways says almost all UK flights cancelled over strike

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Airways said Monday it has been forced to cancel almost all its flights from UK airports on the first day of a strike by pilots. “After many months of trying to resolve the pay dispute, we are extremely sorry that it has come to this,” BA said in a statement. The airline said it remains willing to return to talks with the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA). “Unfortunately, with […]

One dead after powerful typhoon hits Tokyo

by Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon that battered Tokyo overnight with ferocious winds killed one person, police said Monday, as halted trains caused commuter chaos and more than 100 flights were cancelled. Typhoon Faxai, packing record winds of up to 207 kilometers (129 miles) per hour, made landfall in Chiba just east of the capital before dawn, after barrelling through Tokyo Bay. The transport disruptions unleashed by the storm came less […]

Clashes after peaceful crowd takes Hong Kong message to US consulate

  by Jerome TAYLOR / Yan ZHAO Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Pro-democracy activists jammed Hong Kong streets in a march to the United States consulate on Sunday in a bid to ramp up international pressure on Beijing, but hardcore protesters later clashed with riot police across the city’s core. Millions have demonstrated over the last 14 weeks in the biggest challenge to China’s rule since the city’s handover from Britain in […]

One week after Dorian, Bahamians struggle amid the ruins

by Cyril JULIEN NASSAU, Bahamas (AFP) — One week after Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas, residents struggled amid the ruins Sunday, with many forced to seek refuge far from their shattered homes as the death toll from the top-intensity storm hit 44 in the islands. Dorian, now classified as a post-tropical storm, caused “severe damage” in eastern Canada and was expected to move soon into the North Atlantic after cutting a destructive swath through the […]