International

Three rail workers detained after Turkish rail crash

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — A Turkish court on Monday placed three railway workers in pre-trial detention after they were accused of negligence leading to last week’s fatal rail crash in Ankara. Nine people were killed and almost 90 injured after a high-speed train crashed into a locomotive. Those detained — a signalman, a switchman and a controller working for the state railway authority — face charges of reckless manslaughter and causing injury, the Anadolu state news […]

Malaysia files charges against Goldman over 1MDB scandal

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia on Monday filed criminal charges against Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs and two of its former employees over the scandal surrounding state fund 1MDB, authorities said. Charges were filed against subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs and former employees Tim Leissner and Ng Chong Hwa, said a statement from Malaysia’s attorney-general Tommy Thomas. Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian financier who allegedly masterminded the theft of billions of dollars from the sovereign […]

Heavy fog grounds flights in the Netherlands

Netherlands, (AFP)- Heavy fog over the Netherlands forced at least one airport to close its runways and divert inbound flights Sunday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, the airports and news reports said The southern Eindhoven international airport has been closed since noon (1100 GMT), with some 27 inbound flights re-routed and at least six other flights cancelled, according to the airport’s website. The same number of departing flights have been cancelled, affecting between 6,500 to 8,000 passengers, a local […]

Saudi Arabia slams US Senate vote as ‘interference’

  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Sunday rejected as “interference” a US Senate resolution to end American military support for a Riyadh-led war in Yemen, and another holding its crown prince responsible for the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi. “The kingdom condemns the latest position of the US Senate that was built on untrue allegations and affirms a total rejection of any interference in its internal affairs,” the foreign ministry said in […]

N. Korea hits latest US sanctions, says these may ‘block path to denuclearization’

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has condemned the United States over its latest sanctions measures, warning the policy could “block the path to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula forever”. The warning from the North on Sunday came days after the US said it was imposing sanctions on three senior North Korean officials over human rights abuses. The sanctioned officials include Choe Ryong Hae, who has been considered a right-hand man to leader […]

Powerful blast at Japan restaurant injures 42

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful blast ripped through a restaurant in northern Japan late Sunday, injuring 42 people, starting fires that took hours to bring under control and leading several neighbouring buildings to collapse, officials and reports said. Images from the scene showed large flames and plumes of smoke rising in the night air after the blast in the northern city of Sapporo. The cause of the blast was still under investigation, police […]

Protesters march against Italy’s tough new anti-migrant law

  ROME, Italy (AFP) — Several thousand people marched in Rome Saturday in protest at Italy’s tough new anti-migrant law which makes it easier to expel new arrivals. The protesters waved flags and donned yellow vests emblazoned with the slogan “Get up! Stand Up! for your right” in a reference to the famous Bob Marley song. The new law would “only increase the number of people without papers in Italy and force people underground”, protester […]

US judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional, Democrats vow to appeal

  by Carlos HAMANN Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A federal judge in Texas ruled late Friday that the US health care law known as Obamacare is unconstitutional — a ruling that opposition Democrats vowed to appeal. US District Judge Reed O’Connor’s 55-page ruling came in a lawsuit filed by several Republican state attorneys general opposed to the federal government health plan, known officially as the Affordable Care Act. Conservative Republicans have […]

Australia recognizes west Jerusalem as capital of Israel

  by Daniel DE CARTERET Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia now recognizes west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Saturday, but a contentious embassy shift from Tel Aviv will not occur until a peace settlement is achieved. Canberra became one of just a few governments around the world to follow US President Donald Trump’s lead and recognize the contested city as Israel’s capital, but Morrison also committed to recognizing […]

UN envoy calls for ‘robust monitoring regime’ in Yemen

By Philippe Rater Agence France-Presse UN special envoy Martin Griffiths on Friday called for the urgent creation of a strong monitoring mechanism in war-ravaged Yemen, one day after fighting parties agreed to a ceasefire at a vital port. Yemen’s warring factions accepted at UN-brokered talks in Sweden on Thursday a truce on Hodeida port, a key gateway for aid and food imports to a country where 14 million people stand on the brink of famine. “A […]

Sandy Hook school evacuated over threat on anniversary of gun massacre

(AFP) — US elementary school Sandy Hook, the scene of a horrific shooting that left 26 children and teachers dead, was evacuated Friday after receiving a bomb threat on the sixth anniversary of the massacre. A police spokesman from Newton, Connecticut told AFP all of the students were evacuated without incident. A police search of the premises did not turn up an explosive device, though school administrators closed the institution for the day as a […]

China says to suspend extra tariffs on US cars, parts

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China announced Friday it will suspend extra tariffs added to US-made cars and auto parts for three months starting on January 1 as part of the trade war truce with the United States. Beijing raised tariffs on American-made cars and auto parts this summer by 25 percent in retaliation for US tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods. “Suspension of the tariffs is a concrete measure to implement the consensus reached […]