International

‘Hostage politics’: Death sentence heightens China, Canada tensions

by Laurent Thomet and Elizabeth Law Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China – China on Tuesday vociferously defended a court’s decision to impose the death penalty on a convicted Canadian drug smuggler, escalating a diplomatic row that experts say has descended into a high-stakes game of “hostage politics”. China’s foreign ministry blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “irresponsible remarks” after he criticised the death sentence handed to 36-year-old Robert Lloyd Schellenberg. Beijing and Ottawa have been squabbling […]

Six dead in attack on upmarket Nairobi hotel complex

by Fran BLANDY / Celine CLERY Agence France-Presse NAIROBI, Kenya – At least six people were killed Tuesday when an Islamist suicide bomber and gunmen stormed an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi, in the first such attack in the Kenyan capital in five years. Gunshots rang out sporadically as night fell in Nairobi, where police combed the hotel and outlying office buildings for survivors while trying to flush out the attackers. The attack at the […]

Int’l Criminal Court acquits former Ivory Coast strongman Gbagbo

  THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The International Criminal Court on Tuesday acquitted former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo over post-electoral violence in the West African nation in a stunning blow to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Judges ordered the immediate release of the 73-year-old deposed strongman, the first head of state to stand trial at the troubled ICC, and his right-hand man Charles Ble Goude. The pair hugged each other after the […]

Japan Olympic chief denies corruption allegations

  by Natsuko Fukue Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The head of Japan’s Olympic Committee Tuesday denied involvement in a suspect payment made before Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Games, while apologizing for any possible impact on the hosting of the event. French investigating magistrates have indicted Tsunekazu Takeda as they probe two payments of 2.8 million Singapore dollars ($2.1 million) made before the Japanese capital was chosen to host the Olympics. During […]

Winter weather killed 15 displaced children in Syria: UN

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Freezing temperatures and the lack of medical care have killed at least 15 displaced Syrian children in recent weeks, the United Nations reported on Tuesday. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said eight of them had died as a result of the cold in the Rukban camp in southeastern Syria and seven others during the displacement from the jihadist bastion of Hajin, further north. “Freezing temperatures and harsh living conditions in Rukban… […]

Hundreds of flights axed as fresh strike hits German airports

by Michelle FITZPATRICK Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Hundreds of flights were canceled at eight German airports Tuesday, including at the nation’s busiest travel hub Frankfurt, as security staff walked off the job in a deepening row over pay. Germany’s powerful Verdi union said the strike would last from 02:00 am until 8:00 pm (0100-1900 GMT) at Frankfurt airport, with walkouts in Munich, Hanover, Bremen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Dresden and Erfurt following roughly the […]

MIAA to travelers: Do not bring prohibited items in your luggage

(Eagle News) — The Manila International Airport Authority has reminded travelers not to bring prohibited items in their luggage, whether this be hand-carried or checked in. MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal issued the statement after a Filipino student was intercepted on Jan. 8 by Hong Kong airport authorities for carrying extendable batons in his check-in luggage. Under Hong Kong law, stunning devices that include batons are considered “arms.” “It is wise to check with the […]

China slams Trudeau’s ‘irresponsible remarks’ on Canadian’s death sentence

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing on Tuesday slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for making “irresponsible remarks” after he criticised a Chinese court’s death sentence against a convicted Canadian drug smuggler. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, was given the death penalty on Monday after his previous 15-year prison sentence was deemed too lenient — a ruling that came amid a deepening diplomatic rift between Ottawa and Beijing. Trudeau expressed “extreme concern” on Monday, saying “China has chosen to […]

Chinese court sentences Canadian drug suspect to death

  DALIAN, China (AFP) — A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death on drug trafficking charges on Monday after his previous 15-year prison sentence was deemed too lenient, deepening a diplomatic rift as Canadian premier Justin Trudeau accused Beijing of “arbitrarily” using capital punishment. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, nodded as the judge in the northeast city of Dalian asked him whether he understood the verdict, following a day-long retrial in which he declared […]

South Korea awards ferry sinking survivors compensation

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A South Korean court on Monday awarded compensation to some survivors of the Sewol ferry sinking, almost five years after the accident killed more than 300 people in one of the country’s deadliest maritime disasters. The 6,825-tonne Sewol was carrying 476 people — most of them high-school students on a school trip — when it capsized off the southern coast in April 2014. Almost all the victims were children, many […]

Canada warns of China travel risk after death sentence

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada is warning citizens to “exercise a high degree of caution” when travelling to China after a Canadian man was sentenced to death on drug trafficking charges. The revised advisory cautioned travellers of the “risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” and noted that the “safety and security situation could change with little notice”. The update came hours after a Chinese court on Monday sentenced Canadian citizen Robert Lloyd Schellenberg to […]

Go away! No one likes you: Tomic blasts Davis Cup skipper Hewitt

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) – Firebrand Bernard Tomic has launched an extraordinary attack on fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt, saying “no one likes him any more” while claiming he has ruined the national tennis system. The combustible 26-year-old unloaded on the Australian Davis Cup captain and two-time Grand Slam champion after being bundled out of Melbourne Park at the first hurdle late Monday. He alleged there were deep divisions in the Australian men’s game. “It’s all Lleyton. […]