International

US Southern Baptist churches embroiled in sex abuse scandal

  by Nova Safo Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — The United States’ largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, is facing a sexual abuse crisis after a bombshell report revealed hundreds of predators and more than 700 victims since 1998. The report by two Texas newspapers found some 380 church leaders and volunteers have faced public accusations of abuse, mostly of children as young as three years old. Some of the accused […]

Singapore detains alleged sponsor of Malaysian IS fighter

SINGAPORE (AFP) — A Singaporean man who gave financial support to a Syria-based Islamic State (IS) militant from Malaysia has been detained under the city-state’s tough internal security laws, authorities said Friday. The arrest highlights the continued influence of Southeast Asian militants fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria in radicalizing people back home, even as the jihadists face defeat in the Middle East. Singaporean businessman Mohamed Kazali bin Salleh, 48, is suspected of being […]

Bomb hidden in corpse kills Burkina Faso army doctor

  OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AFP) — A bomb hidden in a corpse dressed in military uniform killed an army doctor and wounded two police officers in northern Burkina Faso, a security official told AFP on Thursday. Soldiers and police were sent to inspect the male body after it was discovered abandoned on a road in the town of Djibo near the border with Mali, according to the source. The doctor “died in the explosion of […]

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin calls US-China talks ‘productive’

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States had “productive” talks with China over their trade dispute, after negotiations in Beijing ended with no indication of any concrete progress. In a tweet, Mnuchin said that he and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had “productive meetings with China’s Vice Premier Liu He.” © Agence France-Presse

Japan to recognize indigenous Ainu people for first time

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Japan’s government introduced a bill Friday to recognize the country’s ethnic Ainu minority as an “indigenous” people for the first time, after decades of discrimination against the group. The Ainu people — many of whom live in northern Hokkaido — have long suffered the effects of a policy of forced assimilation, and while discrimination has receded gradually, income and education gaps with the rest of Japan persist. “It is important to […]

US officials to meet Xi as trade talks near end

by Ryan Mcmorrow Agence France Presse Top US economic officials were to meet on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the sides aim to wrap up trade talks in Beijing with enough goodwill to extend a truce in their tariff war. The world’s two biggest economies are seeking an accord to bridge their deep trade differences, after President Donald Trump set a March 1 deadline beyond which he would rescind a freeze on tariff […]

Haiti president breaks silence after week of violent unrest

by Amelie BARON Agence France Presse PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Haitian President Jovenel Moise on Thursday broke his silence after a week of violent protests demanding his resignation as the US announced it was pulling “non-emergency personnel” from the country over the deadly unrest. “I will not leave the country in the hands of armed gangs and drug traffickers,” Moise said in a pre-recorded address broadcast on state television, speaking in Creole in the aftermath […]

$100 million in humanitarian aid pledged to Venezuela: Bolton

by Alina DIESTE Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Twenty-five countries have pledged $100 million in aid to crisis-hit Venezuela, US national security advisor John Bolton announced Thursday following an Organization of American States conference on assisting the crisis-hit country. “Today, 25 countries, united at the OAS-hosted Conference on Humanitarian Assistance in Support of Venezuela pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance,” Bolton tweeted. According to David Smolanksy, coordinator of an OAS working group […]

Vegas Golden Knights drop second home game to Arizona Coyotes

By Aljamin Santos EBC Las Vegas Bureau LAS VEGAS, NV (Eagle News) – With just 26 games left in the regular season, the divisional game between the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights could be the start to a shift in the western conference. The Coyotes, who broke a five-game losing streak against the Dallas Stars, needed to win this matchup. The Golden Knights, having suffered a loss to the Blue Jackets Saturday evening, sat […]

Pompeo calls Iran more destabilizing than N. Korea

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo underlined the need for different foreign policy approaches to Iran and North Korea in comments published Thursday, describing Tehran as more “destabilizing” than Pyongyang. “We’ve made very clear that these situations are very different. We take each of them where we find them,” he told US television station CBS in excerpts of a transcript released by the State Department. Washington set 12 tough conditions […]

War kills over 100,000 babies a year: Save the Children

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) — At least 100,000 babies die every year because of armed conflict and its impact, from hunger to denial of aid, Save the Children International said on Friday. In the 10 worst-hit countries, a conservative estimate of 550,000 infants died as a result of fighting between 2013 and 2017. They succumbed to war and its effects, among them hunger, damage to hospitals and infrastructure, a lack of access to health care and […]

DFA: Five Filipino sailors missing off Falkland Islands

(Eagle News)—Several Filipinos who are crewmen of a Taiwanese vessel that caught fire off the Falkland Islands have been reported missing. In a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Embassy in London said the five Filipinos have been missing since Monday. The DFA said embassy officials were “closely coordinating with relevant authorities and the manning agency of the Filipino seafarers..” It said it was also “ready to provide assistance.” The Taiwanese vessel […]