International

Trump, Kim to meet anew in month after N.Korean visits White House

by Shaun TANDON Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump will meet for the second time with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un around the end of February, the White House said Friday, after a top general from Pyongyang paid a rare visit to Washington. Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol, a right-hand man to the North Korean strongman, met the embattled president at the White House for an unusually long 90 […]

Fuel pipeline blaze in Mexico kills 20, injures dozens: officials

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A leaking fuel pipeline triggered a massive blaze in central Mexico Saturday, killing at least 20 people and injuring another 54, officials said. Omar Fayad, governor of Hidalgo state, said locals at the site of the leak were scrambling to steal some of the leaking oil when at least 20 of them were burned to death. “I’ve been told that 20 have been burned to death and another 54 burn […]

Pelosi scrapped Afghan trip after Trump ‘leaked’ details

  By Michael Mathes Agence France-Presse (AFP) — US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday excoriated her political nemesis, President Donald Trump, for “outing” her commercial trip to Afghanistan after barring her from using a military aircraft, forcing her to scrap it entirely over security concerns. The brawl between the no-nonsense Republican leader and the take-no-prisoners Democrat — who is now just two heartbeats away from the presidency — is the latest round in their […]

New migrant caravan enters Mexico, legally or not

By Gabriela COUTINO / with Edgar CALDERON in Tecun Uman, Guatemala Agence France-Presse (AFP) — Hundreds of Central Americans entered Mexico illegally as the latest migrant caravan to set its sights on the United States began crossing the Mexican-Guatemalan border en masse Friday. Not content to wait five days for the humanitarian visas Mexico is offering them, several hundred migrants took to make-shift rafts to cross the Suchiate River, which forms the frontier, or snuck […]

‘Total internet shutdown’ in Zimbabwe: provider

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Zimbabwe imposed a “total shutdown” of the internet on Friday, a major provider told customers, after protests early this week triggered a ruthless security crackdown. The internet had been partially restored after a first shutdown started on Tuesday. “We were served with another directive for total shutdown of the internet until further notice,” Econet, the country’s biggest provider, said in a text message on Friday. “Our lawyers advised we are required […]

Swedish lawmakers elect PM Lofven to second term

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Sweden ended a four-month political vacuum Friday when lawmakers elected Prime Minister Stefan Lofven to a second term, after he elbowed out the far-right to save one of Europe’s few left-wing governments. Lofven’s new minority center-left government — comprising his Social Democrats and the Greens — won the backing of the Centre and Liberal parties, until now members of the four-party centre-right opposition Alliance. © Agence France-Presse

Top N.Korean in Washington to prepare new Trump summit

by Shaun TANDON Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A top North Korean general was paying a rare visit Friday to Washington, where he is expected to meet President Donald Trump to finalize a new summit aimed at denuclearization and easing decades of hostility. Kim Yong Chol, a right-hand man to leader Kim Jong Un, is the first North Korean dignitary in nearly two decades known to have spent the night in the […]

Albanian PM plays for ‘likes’ with social media savvy

by Briseida MEMA Agence France Presse TIRANA, Albania (AFP) — Armed with quirky web humour and pop references, Albania’s spunky Prime Minister Edi Rama is embracing the art of the internet meme, waging political battles online across an arsenal of social networks. When student protesters refused his offer for negotiations last month, the 54-year-old leader beckoned them on Instagram. But his call for dialogue was not a staid plea filmed behind a desk, but rather […]

21 dead in car bomb attack on Colombian police academy

by Hector Velasco Agence France Presse BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — Colombia’ s government declared three days of mourning Thursday after at least 21 people died in a car bomb at a Bogota police cadet training academy, and 68 were wounded — the worst such incident in the city in 16 years. The defense ministry said the “terrorist act” was carried out using a vehicle packed with 80 kilograms (around 175 pounds) of explosives. “Unfortunately, the […]

UK PM May says ‘impossible’ to rule out no-deal Brexit

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday said it was “impossible” for her to rule out a no-deal Brexit without stopping the process altogether, as she tries to come up with a strategy before exit day on March 29. May was responding to a letter from opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asking her to exclude crashing out of the EU as a precondition for talks about Brexit compromise proposals. May […]

Three Filipinas nabbed in Thailand for raising funds allegedly for children’s charity — DFA

(Eagle News) — Three Filipinas were arrested in Thailand for raising funds allegedly for a children’s charity, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. In a statement, the DFA, without naming names, said the women, who claimed to represent the Children’s Joy Foundation, were nabbed in front of a restaurant in Phettrakul in Bang Lamung district in Pattaya. “Ambassador to Thailand Mary Jo Aragon said the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok has already reached out to the […]

Ten killed in car bomb attack on Colombian police academy

by Hector Velasco Agence France Presse BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — A car bomb attack on a police cadet training academy killed 10 people and wounded 65 on Thursday in Bogota, making it the worst such incident in the Colombian capital in 16 years. The defense ministry said the “terrorist act” was carried out using a vehicle packed with 80 kilograms (around 175 pounds) of explosives. “All Colombians reject terrorism and we’re united in fighting it,” […]