International

Saudi king to launch ‘entertainment city’

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi King Salman will launch the construction of an “entertainment city” near Riyadh Wednesday, authorities said, part of a series of multi-billion dollar projects as the kingdom seeks to diversify its oil-reliant economy. The 334-square kilometer project in Qiddiya, southwest of Riyadh, would rival Walt Disney and include high-end theme parks, motorsport facilities, and a safari park, officials say. The facility highlights a “relentless effort to develop giga-projects that will […]

Continue Reading →

At least 18 dead in China karaoke lounge fire: Xinhua

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A fire tore through a karaoke lounge in southern China on Tuesday, killing 18 people and injuring another five in a suspected arson case, police and state media said. The blaze took place after midnight in a three-storey building in Qingyuan City, Guangdong province, and was put out shortly before 1:00 am local time, according to the police. A preliminary investigation found that the fire was caused by arson, the Qingyuan public […]

Continue Reading →

Chinese carrier leads live fire drill in East China Sea

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A flotilla of Chinese naval vessels held a “live combat drill” in the East China Sea, state media reported early Tuesday, the latest show of force by Beijing’s burgeoning navy in disputed waters that have riled neighbors. The state-run Xinhua news agency said the vessels, led by China’s sole aircraft carrier the Liaoning, “took part in anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare training” with a simulated “opposing force”. Xinhua said the drill, which […]

Continue Reading →

Armenia celebrates as veteran leader quits amid protests

by Mariam Harutyunyan Agence France Presse YEREVAN, Armenia (AFP) — Armenia’s veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian resigned on Monday after mass protests against his election as prime minister with sweeping powers, sparking celebrations across the impoverished country. Last week lawmakers voted for Sarkisian as prime minister after he served a decade as Armenia’s president, triggering political turmoil in the Moscow-allied nation of 2.9 million people. The opposition said the move was designed to extend his chokehold […]

Continue Reading →

G7 toughens Russia stance but Iran deal in the balance

by Dave Clark Agence France Presse TORONTO, Canada (AFP) — Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven vowed to defend their “democracy” against attacks from Vladimir Putin’s Russia on Monday in a show of solidarity from the world’s richest industrialized economies. Canada’s Chrystia Freeland, host of the Toronto talks, said Russia must pay a price for undermining Western elections, using nerve agent in an attempted assassination of a Russian double agent on British soil, and […]

Continue Reading →

France’s Macron at White House, Mount Vernon as state visit begins

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday kicked off a pomp-filled three-day state visit to the US at the White House — a test of whether his studied bonhomie with President Donald Trump can save the Iran nuclear deal and avoid a trans-Atlantic trade war. Before getting the full red carpet treatment at the White House — payback for wooing Trump with military parades and […]

Continue Reading →

George H.W. Bush hospitalized days after wife’s death: office

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former president George H.W. Bush was being treated for a blood infection on Monday, hours after laying his wife Barbara to rest, his office said. A statement stressed that Bush, 93, was responding to treatment. He was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital early Sunday, just a day after bidding a final farewell to his wife of 73 years during her funeral. Barbara Bush had died on Tuesday. The 41st president greeted […]

Continue Reading →

N. Korean leader’s ‘bitter sorrow’ after fatal China tourist crash

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un visited China’s embassy in Pyongyang to express his “bitter sorrow” after a bus crash killed dozens of Chinese tourists, state media reported early Tuesday. Thirty-two Chinese tourists and four North Koreans were killed when a bus plunged from a bridge in North Korea late Sunday, according to Chinese officials. In a rare admission of negative news from North Korea’s tightly controlled propaganda network, the […]

Continue Reading →

Van plows into Toronto crowd, killing nine

by Francesco FONTEMAGGI Agence France Presse TORONTO, Canda (AFP) — A man plowed a white rental van into a crowd of pedestrians in Canada’s biggest city Toronto on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding 16, police said. The incident took place in broad daylight around 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a conference center hosting a meeting of G7 ministers, but officials said they had no evidence of a link to the event. Police […]

Continue Reading →

New son for Britain’s Prince William and Kate

by Robin Millard and Martine Pauwels Agence France Presse Kate, the wife of Prince William, gave birth to a baby son on Monday, the couple’s third child who is fifth in line to the British throne. The boy, weighing eight pounds and seven ounces (3.8 kilogrammes), was born at 11:01am (1001 GMT), Kensington Palace announced. Mother and baby are both doing well, the palace said, and William, the Duke of Cambridge, was present for the […]

Continue Reading →

Professor defends role in Cambridge Analytica data scandal

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The psychologist behind an app that harvested data from 50 million Facebook users defended his role in the scandal Sunday, saying he “never heard a word” of opposition from the social media giant. Facebook says Aleksandr Kogan’s app, This Is Your Digital Life, was downloaded by 270,000 people and also gave Kogan access to their friends. The data was passed to British communications firm Cambridge Analytica and was used to […]

Continue Reading →

S. Korea’s Moon lauds North’s test halt as ‘significant’

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday praised the declaration of a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests by the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, days before a summit between the two men. Pyongyang’s move was “a significant decision towards total denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”, Moon said in a meeting with aides. Kim declared that Pyongyang had no further need for nuclear tests or intercontinental ballistic missile launches, and […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 1,495 1,496 1,497 1,498 1,499 … 2,427