International

Kim expressed ‘concern’ over US, N. Korea ‘impasse’ to Xi: KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed “concern” about the deadlock in denuclearisation discussions in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pyongyang’s state media reported Thursday. Kim “raised concern about the impasse created in the process of improving US-DPRK ties and in denuclearisation talks”, the official KCNA news agency said. Kim said Pyongyang’s “basic position of pursuing a peaceful resolution through dialogue remains unchanged”, it added. China is the […]

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Saudi to slash oil exports after price slide: minister

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia will slash its oil exports in January by 10 percent compared to November, its energy minister said Wednesday as producers move to shore up tumbling prices. Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom, the world’s top crude supplier, would cut its exports to 7.2 million barrels per day in January, down from 8.0 million bpd in November. He also announced a further 100,000 bpd cut in February. OPEC […]

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Xi told Kim China hopes US, N. Korea ‘meet each other halfway’: Xinhua

by Laurent Thomet with Sunghee Hwang in Seoul Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un firm backing in deadlocked nuclear talks with the United States and reasserted Beijing’s key role in the wider process, according to the two allies’ state media Thursday. Kim visited Beijing by train this week for two days of talks with Xi seen as a strategy session ahead of a second […]

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US detained over 50,000 illegal immigrants in December

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Illegal border crossings into the United States continued at a high pace in December, with more than 50,000 people detained for a third straight month as the number of families illegally entering surged, US Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday. With the US government in its third week of a shutdown as President Trump demands that Congress fund the construction of hundreds of miles of new wall on the border, […]

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Pompeo in reassurance mission to Iraq over US Syria pullout plans

by Francesco Fontemaggi Agence France Presse CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday Turkey had committed to protecting Washington’s Kurdish allies fighting jihadists, during a surprise visit to Iraq to soothe concerns over the US troop withdrawal from Syria. The remarks by US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, on a whistle-stop tour of the Middle East, follow tensions between Washington and Ankara over the Kurds’ fate. Turkey reacted angrily to […]

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‘Don’t panic,’ Mexico president says as fuel shortages spiral

by Jennifer GONZALEZ COVARRUBIAS Agence France Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged Mexicans Wednesday not to panic as gasoline shortages spread across the country, caused by a crackdown on fuel theft that risks backfiring badly. The president says the shortages were triggered by his administration’s decision to temporarily close some of state oil company Pemex’s pipelines — part of his bid to wipe out rampant fuel theft that cost […]

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Wife of Norwegian millionaire missing, ransom demanded: reports

  OSLO, Norway (AFP) — The wife of a Norwegian multi-millionaire missing for 10 weeks is believed to have been kidnapped and a large ransom has been demanded for her release, local media reported on Wednesday. Married to a businessman who made his fortune in real estate and the energy sector, 68-year-old Anne-Elisabeth Falkevik disappeared on October 31, the Verdens Gang (VG) newspaper said. A ransom demand for nine million euros ($10.3 million) in cryptocurrency […]

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Hong Kong unveils law banning insults to Chinese national anthem

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong unveiled a proposed law Wednesday to punish anyone who disrespects the Chinese national anthem with up to three years in jail, as Beijing ramps up pressure on the semi-autonomous city to fall into line. The bill, which will have its first reading in the city’s parliament on January 23, sets up a fresh battle between authorities and democracy activists who say the financial hub’s freedoms are being […]

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Japan court rejects Ghosn release bid

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese court on Wednesday rejected a bid by former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn to end his detention over alleged financial misconduct, a day after he denied all accusations in a dramatic court appearance. Ghosn’s lawyers had appealed to the court to free the auto tycoon, claiming at a special hearing in a Tokyo court there were no grounds for his detention, which has now lasted more than 50 days. But […]

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Suspect packages sent to diplomatic missions in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Suspicious packages were sent to more than a dozen foreign embassies and consulates in major Australian cities on Wednesday in a seemingly orchestrated but scattershot campaign. Emergency services raced to a string of diplomatic facilities which had received packages containing suspected hazardous material, all within the space of a few hours. There was no obvious pattern to countries targeted, with consulates of the United States, China, Italy, India, Japan and New […]

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Vietnam accuses Facebook of breaching new cyber law

HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam has accused Facebook of violating a new cybersecurity law by refusing to scrub anti-government content from its site, the first reprimand since the controversial bill came into effect days ago. The law, which went live January 1 and has drawn criticism from the US, the EU and web freedom groups, requires internet companies to remove “toxic content” and hand over user data when requested by authorities. It also stipulates that […]

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N. Korea’s Kim ends Beijing visit as Trump summit looms

by Laurent THOMET Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Kim Jong Un’s train left Beijing on Wednesday after the North Korean leader visited his key ally on a trip seen a strategy session ahead of his expected summit with Donald Trump. Kim arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for his fourth visit to Pyongyang’s sole major diplomatic friend, reportedly visiting a factory and meeting President Xi Jinping. The North Korean leader’s motorcade was spotted arriving at […]

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