International

Erdogan declared winner of Turkey presidential polls

by Stuart Williams and Fulya Ozerkan with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara Agence France Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won tightly-contested presidential polls, the election authority said Monday, extending his 15-year grip on power as the opposition complained bitterly about the conduct of the vote count. Turkish voters had for the first time cast ballots for both president and parliament in the snap elections, with Erdogan looking for a first […]

Britain’s Prince William in Jordan for historic Middle East tour

by Mussa Hattar Agence France-Presse AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) – Prince William flew in to Jordan on Sunday at the launch of a Middle East tour that will see him become the first British royal to pay official visits to both Israel and the Palestinian territories. He was greeted at Amman’s Marka military airport by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, hosting William for the two-day visit in Jordan. The 36-year-old Duke of Cambridge’s Royal Air Force […]

Mattis visits China amid Korea talks, strategic tensions

by Paul HANDLEY Agence France-Presse EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, United States (AFP)–US Secretary of Defense James Mattis will make his first visit to China this week amid rising tensions between the two countries but also a deep need for Beijing’s support in nuclear talks with North Korea. Mattis told reporters Sunday he wants to “take measure” of China’s strategic ambitions after it positioned weaponry on disputed islets in the South China Sea and is seeking […]

Vatican jails Italian priest for child porn

A Vatican court on Saturday jailed for five years an Italian priest who worked as a diplomat for the See of Rome’s Washington embassy, for possessing and sharing child pornography. Monsignor Carlo Alberto Capella pleaded guilty on Friday, the opening day of the court hearing, saying he had gone through a “personal crisis” and felt “useless” as a counsellor at the embassy. The 51-year-old told the three lay Italian judges at the tiny courtroom in […]

French priest suspended after slapping baby during baptism

  PARIS, France (AFP) — A French Catholic priest was suspended Friday after a video of him smacking a crying baby during a baptism ceremony went viral, drawing widespread condemnation on social media. In footage posted on Twitter on Thursday, gasps can be heard when the 89-year-old priest, after ordering the infant he is holding to “be quiet”, sharply slaps his cheek. A few seconds later he smacks him again. The baby’s parents, visibly shocked, […]

Nigeria: 86 killed in fresh herder-farmer violence

  by Salisu Shitu in Jos, with Aminu Abubakar in Kano Agence France-Presse JOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday called for calm after 86 people were killed in an attack by suspected nomadic herders against farming communities in the restive centre of the country. The grim discovery in the Barikin Ladi area of Plateau state came after days of violence apparently sparked by an attack by ethnic Berom farmers on Fulani […]

DFA checking if Filipinos in Ethiopia were among injured in Saturday’s explosion at PM rally that hurt at least 154 people

  (Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs said it is monitoring the situation in Ethiopia after an explosion at a political rally in the capital Addis Ababa on Saturday that has reportedly left one dead and at least 154 injured. “The Philippine Embassy in Cairo is checking whether any of the 800 members of the Filipino Community were among those injured in the explosion,” said a DFA release. Ambassador to Cairo Leslie Baja, […]

One dead, scores injured in grenade blast at Ethiopia PM’s rally

  by Chris Stein Agence France Presse ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — One person died and scores of others were hurt after a grenade blast at new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s first mass rally in the capital that sent crowds fleeing in panic. Abiy had just wrapped up his speech before tens of thousands of people in the heart of Addis Ababa when the explosion went off, sending droves of supporters towards the stage […]

Defusing row, OPEC agrees to put more oil into market

  by Michelle Fitzpatrick/ Joseph Sotinel Agence France Presse VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — OPEC energy ministers said they would be putting more oil onto the market to meet “extra demand”, reaching a last-ditch compromise in a spat that pitted Saudi Arabia against archfoe Iran. The ministers announced on Friday they had agreed to ramp up oil production by around a million barrels a day from July. “I think it will contribute significantly to meet the […]

Trump threatens 20 percent tariff on all imported EU cars

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump threatened Friday to impose a 20 percent tariff on cars imported from the European Union, after the bloc’s additional tariffs on dozens of American products took effect. “Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the U.S. by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their […]

US says it is dedicated to ‘multilateralism’ despite leaving UN rights council

  GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Washington remains committed to working diplomatically with other countries to solve problems, despite its decision this week to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, a US ambassador said Friday. “Multilateralism works, and we are engaged across the board in a number of international organizations and entities,” Robert Wood, the US ambassador to the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, told reporters. His comment came days after Washington withdrew from the UN’s […]

Koreas discuss reunions for war-separated families

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North and South Korea on Friday held Red Cross talks to discuss resuming reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, the latest step in the diplomatic thaw on the peninsula. Millions of people were separated during the conflict that sealed the division between the two Koreas nearly 70 years ago. Most died without having a chance to see or hear from their relatives on the other side of […]