International

EU leaders seal hard-fought migration deal

by Danny Kemp and Lachlan Carmichael Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – EU leaders clinched a crucial migration deal during all-night talks Friday that Italy’s hardline new premier said meant his country was “no longer alone” in shouldering the responsibility for migrants. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who heads a month-old anti-immigration government, had vetoed joint conclusions for the entire agenda of the summit in Brussels until his demands were finally met before dawn. Italy […]

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Japan’s jobless rate hits 26-year low

TOKYO, Japan (AFP)–Japan’s jobless rate slumped to a 26-year low in May while the jobs-to-applicants ratio hit new record high, as the country struggles with labor shortages, official figures showed Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 2.2 percent from 2.5 percent in the previous three months, according to a survey by the internal affairs ministry, the lowest level since August-October of 1992. The jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at its highest rate in 44 years, with 160 […]

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Nigerian fuel truck ‘wildfire’ kills 9

LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) – A fuel truck exploded in Nigeria’s commercial megacity Lagos on Thursday killing nine people in a huge blaze, state emergency officials told AFP. Suleiman Yakubu of the National Emergency Management Agency said the death toll was “nine so far” but that “more people are coming to identify vehicles”. “Before the fire was contained it spread like wildfire,” he added. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement he was “very sad […]

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S. Korea court offers conscientious objectors route away from army

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld the jailing of those who evade the country’s military conscription law, but ordered authorities to provide conscientious objectors with an alternative form of national service. Almost 65 years after the end of the Korean War, nearly every able-bodied South Korean man between the ages of 18 and 35 must still complete around two years of military service. Anyone refusing the call-up usually ends […]

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500-plus arrests at US Capitol as women protest border separations

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – More than 500 women including a member of Congress were arrested Thursday in the US Capitol complex protesting President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy that has triggered thousands of family separations at the border with Mexico. US Capitol Police said 575 people conducting a sit-down protest in the atrium of a Senate office building were charged with unlawfully demonstrating, then processed at the scene and released. Many of those detained […]

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Bali shuts airport after volcanic eruption

  DENPASAR, Indonesia (AFP) — Bali closed its international airport following a volcanic eruption on the Indonesian resort island that sent thick smoke and ash billowing 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) into the air, an official said Friday. Ngurah Rai airport was due to be closed from 3:00 am (1900 GMT) to at least 7:00 pm Friday after a pilot report detected volcanic ash as high as 23,000 feet following Mount Agung’s eruption on Thursday. “Based on […]

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Battle lines drawn in Senate over Trump Supreme Court pick

  by Michael Mathes © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The battle over President Donald Trump’s choice to fill a coming Supreme Court vacancy, an appointment with far-reaching consequences for American society, kicked off in the Senate Thursday as Democrats vowed against the odds to fight any Republican nominee. Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announced departure at the end of July will give Trump the opportunity to appoint his second justice to the nine-seat bench — […]

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At least five dead in Annapolis newsroom shooting

  by Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse ANNAPOLIS, United States (AFP) — At least five people were killed Thursday when a gunman opened fire inside the offices of the Capital Gazette, a newspaper published in Annapolis, a historic city an hour east of Washington. A reporter for the daily, Phil Davis, tweeted that a “gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees.” “There is nothing more terrifying than […]

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Mexican leftist closes in on presidency with anti-graft message

by Maria Lorente © Agence France-Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Fed up with rampant corruption and violence, Mexicans vote Sunday in historic elections that look set to punish the political establishment and deliver the presidency to leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Leading by more than 20 points in the polls, the sharp-tongued, silver-haired politician known as “AMLO” looks poised to become the next figure on the growing global list of anti-establishment candidates swept into office […]

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France charges 10 ultra-right suspects over plot to attack Muslims

  PARIS, France (AFP) — French authorities have charged 10 suspected far-right extremists in connection with an alleged plot to attack Muslims, a judicial source said Thursday. The nine men and one woman aged 32 to 69 were arrested in raids across France on Saturday. They appeared before a judge on Wednesday evening and were charged with “criminal terrorist conspiracy”, the source said. Several were also charged with violations of firearms laws and the manufacture or […]

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Pentagon chief seeks to reassure S. Korea, Japan on North

  by Paul Handley © Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US Defense Secretary James Mattis told South Korea Thursday that their alliance remained “ironclad”, as he sought to reassure key East Asian allies following Donald Trump’s unilateral suspension of military exercises with Seoul. Concern has mounted in the region over the stance of the US president, who has lauded North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “talented guy” as he seeks to persuade […]

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Xi refuses to budge on South China Sea in talks with US defense chief

by Paul Handley © Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping stiffly defended his country’s claim to disputed islands in the South China Sea after US Defense Secretary James Mattis questioned the militarization of the region in a day of meetings in Beijing Wednesday with top officials. The two sides held firm to their stances on a hot-button issue which has added to broader tensions between the rival superpowers, but US officials said […]

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