WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US Navy guided-missile destroyer on Monday sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea where Beijing has built military installations, as trade talks between the two countries kicked off. The US and its allies periodically send planes and warships through the area, which is claimed by China, to signal to Beijing their right under international law to pass through the waters. The USS McCampbell sailed within 12 nautical […]
International
Gabon gov’t says ‘situation under control,’ rebels seized
LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AFP) — The government of Gabon declared that it was in control after an attempted coup by army rebels Monday and that it had arrested most of those involved. “Calm has returned, the situation is under control,” government spokesman Guy-Bertrand Mapangou told AFP. Only hours earlier, soldiers burst into state radio and called on the people to “rise up,” an apparent bid to oust ailing President Ali Bongo, who is out of the […]
Marshalls treat grounded Chinese vessel as ‘crime scene’
MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AFP) — The grounding of a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel in the Marshall Islands is being treated as a “crime scene”, officials in the Pacific Ocean archipelago said Monday. The 308-foot (94-meter) boat, which ran aground last week on a remote northern atoll, was not licensed to be in the country’s waters. “What they were doing in Marshall Islands’ waters is still unanswered,” Chief Secretary Ben Graham said, adding that the government […]
China executes kindergarten knife attacker
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has executed a farmer who attacked several children with a knife at a kindergarten in a southern Chinese city two years ago, state media reported Monday. Yan Pengan was executed last Friday for slashing young children at the school in the Guangxi Zhuang region, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Yan went to the kindergarten with a kitchen knife in January 2017 and attacked 12 children, seriously injuring four of […]
Radicalized in jail, teen thug becomes hardened jihadist
by Matthieu DEMEESTERE Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Mehdi Nemmouche stands accused of carrying out Europe’s first attack by an Islamist fighter returning from the war in Syria. But his journey from a French foster home to a Brussels court began not in a Middle Eastern desert but in a run-down industrial town. This week, he will go on trial for four anti-Semitic murders during a shooting spree at Belgium’s Jewish Museum. […]
82 seconds of terror at Brussels’ Jewish museum
by Clément Zampa Agence France Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — A shadow creeps behind two visitors just inside the Jewish museum in Brussels. A man emerges, arm extended as he fires a pistol into their necks. The first bullet kills Emanuel Riva, the second, his wife Miriam, with the couple dropping to the floor in a ghoulish scene captured by the museum’s security cameras. Neither Israeli tourist sees the shooter coming as they are engrossed […]
Indonesia landslide death toll reaches 32: official
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 32 people were killed by a landslide in Indonesia on New Year’s Eve, authorities said Monday as they ended a week-long search for missing victims. Rescuers who have been pulling bodies from mountains of mud called off the search with one person still unaccounted for after heavy rains triggered the deadly slides in West Java province. Several others were injured in the December 31 disaster. “The search has wrapped […]
Japan starts $9 departure tax for travelers
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Monday started levying a 1,000 yen ($9.22) departure tax on each person leaving the country, a measure aimed at raising funds to further boost tourism. The International Tourist Tax will cover everyone regardless of nationality — from business people to holidaymakers older than two years of age — and will be tacked on to the price of a airline ticket. The government wants to use an estimated 50 billion […]
French women reclaim ‘yellow vest’ protests with peaceful demo
PARIS, France (AFP) — Hundreds of women on Sunday marched in Paris to reclaim France’s “yellow vest” movement from violent activists, a day after protesters smashed their way into a government ministry. The women, wearing yellow vests, turned out after 50,000 people returned to the streets of France on Saturday amid violent clashes with police. Some of the women waved yellow balloons and pushed prams. Protests were also held in other French cities. “All the […]
Taiwan’s China-sceptic ruling party opts for moderate new leader
by Amber WANG Agence France Presse TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s ruling party elected a new chairman on Sunday, choosing a moderate to replace the post vacated by President Tsai Ing-wen after a recent electoral mauling, in a vote closely watched by China and the United States. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a 2016 landslide poll, sweeping away a government that had built much closer ties to China over the previous decade. […]
Trump aide sets conditions for US Syria withdrawal
by Mike Smith Agence France Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser on Sunday set out conditions for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, saying the defence of allies must first be assured. The comments by John Bolton during a visit to Israel signaled a far more gradual US withdrawal than initially set out by Trump, whose December 19 announcement concerned allies and led to the resignation of fulfillment […]
Trump digs in on wall, as shutdown enters week three
by Jerome CARTILLIER Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump stood firm Sunday on his demand for billions of dollars to fund a border wall with Mexico, claiming “tremendous” support inside his camp on the contentious issue which has forced a government shutdown now entering its third week. “We have to build the wall,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for the Camp David presidential retreat. “It’s about […]





