PARIS, France (Eagle News) — Eiffel Tower workers are planning to strike this week over a new access policy for visitors which they say is generating “monstrous” waits at the famous tourist landmark, union officials said Monday. Since early July the monument has set aside half of daily tickets for people who buy them in advance on the internet and choose a scheduled time for their visit. Previously just 20 percent of tickets could be […]
International
N. Korea developing new missiles: report
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US intelligence agencies have found that North Korea is building new missiles, based on satellite photographs taken in recent weeks and other new evidence, The Washington Post reported Monday. Just weeks after a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang appears to be developing at least one or two liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, the Post said, citing officials familiar with the intelligence. The […]
14 killed in Vietnam wedding party car crash
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) – Fourteen members of the same family were killed in a car crash in central Vietnam Monday en route to a wedding party, including the groom who died instantly when their van hit a container truck, police said. Road accidents are the leading cause of death in Vietnam, where traffic laws are loosely obeyed and road infrastructure is patchy. The victims of Monday’s car crash in Quang Nam were members of an […]
‘Come and get me,’ boy pleaded before California fire death
by Gianrigo MARLETTA Agence France Presse REDDING, United States (AFP) — A young boy pleaded for rescue before he died along with two others in a California wildfire, an anguished relative recounted Monday, while other shaken survivors told of their flight from a “tornado” of fire. Thousands of firefighters in California made some progress against several large-scale blazes that have turned close to 200,000 acres (80,940 hectares) into an ashen wasteland, destroyed expensive homes, and […]
Watch: North Korea returns remains of US war dead
https://youtu.be/rTLwZHP2NG0 by Park Chan-kyong Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea — (AFP) — A US military aircraft flew the remains of more than 50 American servicemen out of North Korea on Friday, prompting a personal “thank you” from Donald Trump to Kim Jong Un. The return of the remains — on the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War — marks the partial fulfilment of an agreement reached between the US president […]
Trump praises Kim over return of war dead amid summit skepticism
by Francesco Fontemaggi Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amid skepticism over his rapprochement with Kim Jong Un, US President Donald Trump praised the North Korean leader on Friday for returning remains believed to be those of more than 50 US servicemen. Trump pointed to the handover of 55 boxes said to hold the remains of US troops killed during the Korean War as evidence that his overtures to the North Korean […]
First Senate Democrat meets with Trump’s Supreme Court pick
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s US Supreme Court nominee finally met with a Democrat on Monday, as Senator Joe Manchin bucked his party and welcomed Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill. The appeals court judge offered smiles but no remarks to reporters as he entered Manchin’s office and left two hours later — the longest of his meetings to date with senators who will decide whether he gets confirmed to the nine-justice bench. […]
Counting begins in Zimbabwe’s first post-Mugabe election
by Susan NJANJI / Fanuel JONGWE Agence France Presse HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — Counting was underway in Zimbabwe’s first election since Robert Mugabe was ousted after 37 years in power as observers warned of possible shortcomings in Monday’s landmark poll. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former right-hand man in the ruling ZANU-PF party, faced off against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) in the historic vote. “I am not shy to […]
Trump says willing to meet with Iran leaders ‘any time’
by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump seemed to jettison threats of impending war with Iran Monday, saying he was willing to meet the country’s leaders without precondition, a dramatic about-face by the enigmatic US president. Barely a week after warning Iran it would suffer untold “consequences,” Trump said he would meet the country’s leader Hassan Rouhani “any time” and without preconditions. “I would meet with Iran if they […]
China’s former internet czar charged with taking bribes
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s former internet czar, who oversaw a tightening of online censorship during his tenure, has been charged with taking bribes, state media said Monday. Throughout his career, Lu Wei used his political offices to benefit himself including “illegally receiving a huge amount of property,” according to the official Xinhua news agency, quoting a statement by the office of the country’s top prosecutor. It said Lu is alleged to have used his […]
More than 500 hikers stranded on mountain after Indonesia quake: official
LOMBOK, Indonesia (AFP) – More than 500 hikers and their guides remain stranded by landslides on an active volcano on Lombok, a day after a powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian holiday island, a national park official said Monday. Helicopters and rescue teams on foot have been deployed to scour the slopes of Mount Rinjani, which is crisscrossed with hiking routes popular with tourists. “There are still 560 people trapped. Five hundred are in Segara Anakan […]
Myanmar floods kill at least 10, force 54,000 people from homes
BAGO, Myanmar (AFP) — Surging floodwaters have killed at least 10 people and forced tens of thousands from their homes across swathes of Myanmar, a government official said Sunday as more heavy monsoon rain battered the region. Vast areas of farmland have been submerged by muddy water stretching to the horizon, with only the rooftops of some houses visible. Some stranded people were plucked from the churning waters by rescuers in boats, while volunteers used […]





