International

Macron warns over China dominance in Indo-Pacific

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — No country can be allowed to dominate the Indo-Pacific, the leaders of France and Australia said Wednesday, as regional capitals fret over the rise of an increasingly assertive China. French President Emmanuel Macron said the two nations — alongside fellow democracy India — had a responsibility to protect the region from “hegemony” — a veiled reference to Beijing’s growing might. “What’s important is to preserve rules-based development in the region… and […]

China’s foreign minister arrives in N. Korea

PYONGYANG, United States (AFP) — China’s foreign minister arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit North Korea in years as Beijing tries to mend fences with its nuclear-armed neighbor. The two-day visit by Wang Yi follows a landmark inter-Korean summit and precedes a meeting between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in coming weeks. Wang, who will meet his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho during […]

109 in custody after Paris May Day violence: police

PARIS, France (AFP) — French police said 109 people were in custody on Wednesday after violent May Day protests in Paris, correcting an earlier figure of 209 given by Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. Hooded youths had torched a McDonald’s restaurant and several vehicles after joining the traditional May 1 union-led demonstration for workers’ rights. © Agence France-Presse

Rundown of sex abuse within the Catholic church

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell on Tuesday became the highest-ranked Catholic ever to be sent to trial for sex offences, adding to a series scandals facing the church globally. Here is a rundown of notable cases: – Australia – Cardinal George Pell, the third highest member of the Vatican hierarchy, has been ordered to stand trial on “multiple” historical sex charges, which he denies. His case coincided with a public […]

S. Korea: US troop withdrawal not linked to possible peace treaty

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday dismissed claims that US troops stationed in the country would have to leave if a peace treaty was signed with the North. Seoul and Pyongyang have remained technically at war since the 1950s but Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed at a landmark summit last week to work towards a permanent treaty to replace a 65-year-old armistice agreement. “US Forces […]

Pope aide Pell to stand trial on multiple sex abuse charges

  by Daniel De Carteret Agence France Presse MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — The Vatican’s finance chief Cardinal George Pell Tuesday became the highest-ranked Catholic to be sent for trial over historic sex offences, as the elderly priest vowed to fight the charges. The 76-year-old was impassive throughout the hearing in the Australian city of Melbourne that ordered him to face a jury on “multiple” charges, although half of the allegations against him — including some […]

Mueller questions for Trump probe possible obstruction: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at the “disgraceful” disclosure of questions Special Counsel Robert Mueller has sought to ask the US president about potential obstruction and other matters as part of his probe into Russian election interference. Compiled by the president’s lawyers, the questions lay out detailed lines of inquiry by Mueller into whether Trump may have tried to obstruct the Russia probe, The New York Times reported. The questions […]

Sao Paulo tower used by squatters collapses in fire

by Johannes Myburgh Agence France Presse SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — A 24-storey building used by squatters in the center of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, collapsed early Tuesday after a blaze that tore through the structure, leaving at least three missing. Survivors described waking in the night to find themselves surrounded by flames and escaping with their children before the tower turned to rubble. Scores of homeless families were occupying the building, according to […]

Canada presses pope over apology to indigenous communities

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada is pressing Catholic pope Francis to apologize to children who were plucked from indigenous communities and put in Catholic boarding schools where sexual abuse took place. Canadian MPs by a large majority passed a motion Tuesday asking the pontiff to apologize personally to Canadian aboriginal children who were torn from their families and sexually abused at residential schools. Voted in the House on Tuesday, 260 MPs voted in favor and […]

Scenes of panic in Nice as alarm gun fired

NICE, France (AFP) — People fled bars and restaurants in Nice in a panic Monday after a man fired a noisy but harmless alarm gun into the air in the southern French resort town, police said. Around a dozen people were lightly injured, some requiring hospital treatment, as people rushed out of bars and cafes fearing an attack, emergency services personnel told AFP. France has been hit by a string of terror attacks in recent […]

South Korean president asks UN to verify closure of North’s test site

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in has asked the United Nations to verify the planned closure of North Korea’s nuclear test site, a UN spokesman said Tuesday. Moon made the request in a phone call to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, a few days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told the South Korean leader he planned to shut down the test site in May. “The president sought […]