LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP0 — Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno on Sunday defended his decision to overturn Julian Assange’s asylum status, claiming in an interview with the Guardian newspaper that the WikiLeaks founder had tried to set up a “center for spying” in Ecuador’s London embassy. “It is unfortunate that, from our territory and with the permission of authorities of the previous government, facilities have been provided within the Ecuadoran embassy in London to interfere in […]
International
American Airlines to cancel 115 flights daily over 737 MAX
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — American Airlines announced Sunday it would scrap some 115 flights per day in the coming months because its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX planes is being grounded until August 19. America’s leading airline had previously only planned to keep the planes out of commission until June 5, with Boeing facing intense scrutiny after 157 people died in an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash on March 10 — the second deadly […]
Sudan protesters demand ‘immediate’ civilian rule
by Jay Deshmukh and Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — Sudanese protesters on Sunday demanded the country’s military rulers “immediately” hand power over to a civilian government that should then bring ousted leader Omar al-Bashir to justice. Thousands remained encamped outside Khartoum’s army headquarters to keep up pressure on a military council that took power after ousting Bashir on Thursday. The organization that spearheaded the protests against Bashir, the Sudanese Professionals Association, called […]
Pompeo visits Colombia-Venezuela border
by Francisco JARA LIMA, Peru (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ended a visit to Peru on Sunday and traveled to the Colombian border city of Cucuta, crossed through by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing crisis under President Nicolas Maduro. After attending a Sunday service in the Peruvian capital Lima, the chief US diplomat set off shortly after noon for the final leg of his tour of South America, which began Friday in Chile. […]
White House denies Trump inciting violence against Muslim lawmaker
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump’s spokeswoman Sarah Sanders defended the president Sunday against accusations that he was inciting violence toward a Muslim congresswoman after he tweeted a video of her spliced with footage of the 9/11 attacks. The White House’s decision to double down on Ilhan Omar came as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the country’s most powerful Democrat, said she had spoken to authorities about her colleague’s safety and urged […]
Tiger wins 15th major title with spectacular Masters victory
by Jim SLATER AUGUSTA, United States (AFP) — Tiger Woods completed an epic “full circle” comeback from career-threatening injury and scandal by winning the 83rd Masters on Sunday, capturing his 15th major title with an unprecedented back-nine rally. Ending an 11-year major drought, the 43-year-old American superstar — who underwent spinal fusion surgery in 2017 due to chronic back pain — seized his first major title since the 2008 US Open. “It’s overwhelming just because […]
Over 120 killed, nearly 600 wounded in Libya fighting: WHO
TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Fighting near Tripoli has killed 121 people and wounded 561 since strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive earlier this month to take the Libyan capital, the World Health Organization said Sunday. WHO’s Libya account said on Twitter the organisation was sending medical supplies and more staff to Tripoli, and denounced “repeated attacks on health care workers, vehicles” during the fighting which erupted on April 4. Haftar’s forces, which control swathes […]
Trump says he could send migrants to ‘sanctuary cities’
US President Donald Trump said Friday he is seriously considering funneling detained illegal migrants into the self-declared sanctuary cities that oppose his tough immigration policies. Trump’s announcement on Twitter reversed a previous White House assurance that the idea — criticized as political retribution against cities led by opposition Democrats — had been dropped. “Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong […]
Quake-hit Indonesians refuse to leave high ground because of tsunami fears
LUWUK, Indonesia (AFP) — Some panicked residents of a quake-hit Indonesian island have refused to return home after the tremor triggered a brief tsunami warning and fears there was more to come, the disaster agency said Saturday. Aftershocks rippled across the east coast of Sulawesi — an island where thousands were killed in a quake-tsunami last year — as officials scrambled to assess whether there are any casualties or major damage. While one resident […]
North Korean leader open to third Trump summit: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is willing meet with US President Donald Trump a third time if Washington comes to the table with the “right attitude”, state media reported Saturday. Kim also said he would wait until the end of the year “for the US to make a courageous decision” on another meeting, after his most recent summit with Trump in Vietnam broke down and both sides left […]
ICC judges turn down request to open Afghanistan war crimes probe after US revokes prosecutor’s visa
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Judges at the International Criminal Court Friday turned down a request to open a war crimes probe in Afghanistan, a week after Washington revoked the court’s chief prosecutor’s visa over the case. “The judges decided that an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan at this stage would not serve the interests of justice,” the Hague-based court said in a statement. Fatou Bensouda’s US visa was revoked over a possible […]
Strong 6.8 quake hits off eastern Indonesia, tsunami warning issued
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — A strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami warning and sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes. The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 17 kilometres (10 miles) off the east coast of Sulawesi island, the USGS said, where a 7.5-magnitude quake-tsunami around the city of Palu killed more than 4,300 people last year. Indonesia’s geophysics agency issued […]