International

“I can do it just with an executive order” – Trump says he plans to scrap birthright citizenship

  by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said he will scrap a constitutional guarantee to citizenship for anyone born on US soil in a headline-grabbing move bolstering his anti-immigration platform a week before midterm elections. The surprise announcement, in an interview with Axios released in part on Tuesday, followed the dispatch of more than 5,000 regular troops to the Mexican border, itself a highly unusual move prompted […]

Some 1,500 protest Trump, mourn US synagogue dead

  by Jennie MATTHEW Agence France Presse PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) — Around 1,500 people took to the streets of Pittsburgh Tuesday to demonstrate peacefully in song against a visit by US President Donald Trump and to mourn 11 Jewish worshipers killed in a synagogue. The crowd of all ages and faiths, including many young families, children and the elderly, marched for six blocks holding signs that read “President Hate, Leave Our State!” and “Trump’s […]

US calls for Yemen ceasefire

by Olivia HAMPTON Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States called Tuesday for a ceasefire and peace talks in Yemen, as the Saudi-led military coalition sent more than 10,000 new troops toward a vital rebel-held port city ahead of a new assault. Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said the US had been watching the conflict “for long enough,” adding that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are in a US-backed […]

Erdogan urges Saudi prosecutor to find out who ordered Khashoggi hit

by Fulya OZERKAN Agence France Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor, who visited on Tuesday the consulate in Istanbul where Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, to investigate who ordered the hit on the journalist. Khashoggi’s death has brought near unprecedented international scrutiny on Saudi Arabia and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and the journalist’s fiancee has accused the regime of a massive cover-up. […]

Merkel says planned exit won’t hurt her influence abroad

by Hui Min NEO Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday she does not expect her global influence to be diminished in the run-up to her planned exit from politics in 2021, even as the race to succeed her gathers pace. Merkel said Monday she would not stand for re-election in December as leader of her center-right CDU party, but that she planned to see out her fourth term […]

Tunisia says woman’s suicide bombing ‘isolated act’

TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) — A suicide attack by an unemployed graduate woman on a busy street in the Tunisian capital this week was an “isolated act”, a government minister said Tuesday. Mna Guebla detonated explosives Monday near a gathering of police cars in the upmarket Avenue Habib Bourguiba in central Tunis, wounding 15 officers and two teenagers in the first such attack in the city since 2015. Interior Minister Hichem Fourati, whose ministry is on […]

Brazil’s Bolsonaro to give campaign surplus to hospital

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday he would give more than $400,000 in leftover campaign funds to the hospital that treated him after he was stabbed in the abdomen at a rally. The former army captain, who won Sunday’s election with 55 percent of the vote, said his campaign had cost about 1.5 million reals, or $400,000. But that was “less than half the funds that were raised through […]

11 dead in Italy storms as wild weather sweeps Europe

ROME, Italy (AFP) — The death toll from fierce storms battering Italy has risen to 11, civil protection authorities said Tuesday, as wild weather swept parts of Europe, leaving motorists and tourists stranded. Road were blocked and thousands of people were left without power in southern and central Europe, as rains and violent winds sparked flooding and tore trees from their roots. Thick snow has also cloaked French and Italian mountain regions, trapping hundreds of […]

Trump visits Pittsburgh synagogue after shooting, protesters cry foul

by Jennie MATTHEW Agence France Presse PITTSBURGH, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump on Tuesday visited the Pittsburgh synagogue where 11 people were gunned down at the weekend in an anti-Semitic attack, as more than 1,000 protesters gathered nearby to make it clear the US president was unwelcome. Carrying signs that read “President Hate, Leave Our State!” and “Trump, Renounce White Nationalism Now,” the protesters gathered near the Tree of Life synagogue where the carnage […]

Indonesia sifts through plane debris, orders inspection of all Boeing 737 airliners after tragedy

  by Dessy Sagita  Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia ordered the inspection of all Boeing 737-MAX airliners on Tuesday as rescue teams recovered more human remains from a brand new Lion Air jet that plunged into the sea with 189 people on board. On a Jakarta dockside, officials took up the grim task of separating human remains from plane debris and recovered personal effects, sending the body parts — including from an […]

Nine dead in Italy storms as wild weather sweeps Europe

  ROME, Italy (AFP) — The death toll from fierce storms battering Italy has risen to nine, civil protection authorities said Tuesday, as wild weather swept parts of Europe, leaving motorists and tourists stranded. Road were blocked and thousands of people were left without power in southern and central Europe, as rains and violent winds sparked flooding, tore trees from their roots and whipped debris into the air. Thick snow has also cloaked French and […]

Japan denounces South Korean court ruling on wartime forced labor

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s top court on Tuesday ordered a Japanese steel giant to pay compensation over forced wartime labour, triggering a new row between the two US allies and a denunciation by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. South Korea and Japan are both democracies faced with an increasingly assertive neighbour China and the long-running threat of nuclear-armed Pyongyang. But their own relationship is soured by bitter disputes over history and territory […]