International

Foreign media head to N. Korea to witness nuclear site destruction

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Foreign journalists headed to North Korea on Tuesday to witness the promised destruction of its nuclear test site, a move is seen as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit with the United States. Dozens of reporters from China, the United States, and Russia departed on a charter flight from Beijing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN which is part of the contingent. It showed the journalists board a small plane […]

Harry and Meghan thank royal wedding guests as Kensington Palace releases official wedding photos

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan thanked everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding on Saturday, as their Kensington Palace residence published three official wedding photographs. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would like to thank everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding on Saturday,” the palace said in a statement. “They feel so lucky to have been able to share their day with […]

Trump-Kim summit in play as Moon visits White House

by Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump holds a high-stakes meeting with South Korea’s president at the White House Tuesday, talks that could decide whether the US president’s much-vaunted summit with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un goes ahead. Moon Jae-in jets into Washington on a mission to salvage a rare diplomatic opening between the US and North Korea that is in trouble almost before it begins. Trump had […]

Australian archbishop guilty of concealing child sex abuse

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — An Australian archbishop was Tuesday found guilty of covering up child sex abuse in the 1970s — one of the highest-ranked church officials globally to be successfully prosecuted for such offences. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson was accused of concealing abuse by notorious pedophile priest Jim Fletcher in the New South Wales Hunter region by failing to report the allegations. His legal team reportedly made four attempts to have the case thrown […]

First woman CIA director sworn in

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Veteran CIA officer Gina Haspel was sworn in as the agency’s first female director Monday, hailing the “heroines” who had gone before her and expressing hope she and her team would be “role models.” The 61-year-old Haspel, a Russia specialist who spent her career in the Central Intelligence Agency’s clandestine service, takes over from Mike Pompeo, whom Trump recently made his secretary of state. Haspel was confirmed by the Senate […]

Ebola death toll hits 26 in DR Congo as vaccinations start

MBANDAKA, DR Congo (AFP) — The death toll in an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rose to 26 on Monday after a person died in the northwest city of Mbandaka, the government said, as it began vaccinating first responders against the dreaded disease. “A death was recorded (on Sunday), while two people who had been confirmed as ill with the Ebola virus were cured on Saturday,” Health Minister Oly Ilunga […]

Maduro isolated as US vows action over ‘sham’ Venezuela polls

by Maria Isabel Sanchez Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela faced growing international isolation and a deepening economic crisis Monday following President Nicolas Maduro’s contested re-election as the United States tightened the screws on his regime over a “sham” vote. Washington’s stern reaction further ratcheted up the pressure on the leftist Maduro, after the Lima Group’s 14 mainly Latin American members moved to recall their ambassadors in protest at the opposition-boycotted vote. G20 […]

US to impose ‘strongest sanctions in history’ on Iran

by Francesco Fontemaggi and Thomas Watkins Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday warned Tehran would be hit with the “strongest sanctions in history” and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business with it, toughening up Washington’s policy line after its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. In his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA, the longtime […]

Palestinian president Abbas suffering from pneumonia, condition improving: officials

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is suffering from pneumonia but his condition is improving, officials said late Monday. “I visited President Abbas in the hospital tonight. He suffers from pneumonia and is treated with antibiotics,” Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab member of parliament, said on Twitter, adding that the 83-year-old’s condition had “markedly improved”. Appearing on official media, Saed Sarahna, the head of the Istishari Arab Hospital near Ramallah in the […]

Activist groups launch campaign to break up Facebook

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A coalition of activist groups on Monday announced a campaign to break up Facebook, arguing that the huge social network “has too much power over our lives and democracy.” The groups created a website, and a Facebook page, to garner support for a petition to the US Federal Trade Commission to require the social media firm to spin off Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger into competing networks, and to “impose strong […]

Commemorative coin struck for Trump-Kim summit

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A commemorative coin featuring US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has been struck by the White House Communications Agency ahead of their planned summit next month. The coin depicts Trump and Kim, described as North Korea’s “Supreme Leader,” in profile facing each other in front of a background of US and North Korean flags. The words “Peace Talks” are emblazoned at the top of the front […]

Nipah virus, carried by fruit bats, kills at least three in India, sparks health alert

  by Abhaya Srivastava Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — A deadly virus carried mainly by fruit bats has killed at least three people in southern India, sparking a statewide health alert Monday. Eight other deaths in the state of Kerala are being investigated for possible links to the Nipah virus, which has a 70 percent mortality rate. Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged citizens to stay vigilant and follow instructions from […]