NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — At least 18 people were killed when a truck packed with laborers overturned on a winding highway in western India on Tuesday, police said. The truck hit a roadside barrier outside Khandala, a hill resort and popular tourist destination 80 kilometers (50 miles) inland from Mumbai. “The truck was definitely speeding and flipped over two, three times and crashed into a highway barrier. We have recovered 18 bodies so far,” […]
International
Saudi crown prince wraps up official visit to France
by Adam PLOWRIGHT / Anuj CHOPRA Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wraps up his official visit to France Tuesday with a gala dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, as the young leaders seek to shore up cooperation despite lurking differences. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, previously dined with Macron at Paris’s Louvre museum on Sunday night after flying in on his first trip to France as heir to the […]
N. Korea FM in rare Moscow visit amid diplomatic thaw
by Anna MALPAS Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — North Korea’s foreign minister will hold rare talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Tuesday, as Pyongyang moves to improve strained ties with its neighbors. Ri Yong Ho’s visit comes ahead of planned nuclear summits between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of South Korea and the United States in the coming weeks. “Now it’s particularly important (for North Korea) to […]
Xi vows to further open China economy amid US trade spat
by Ryan MCMORROW Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to lower car tariffs this year and take other steps to further open the world’s number two economy, indirectly addressing major complaints by the United States in a simmering trade row. Promising a “new phase of opening up”, Xi told an economic forum on the southern island of Hainan that Beijing “does not seek a trade surplus” and […]
Imprisoned Lula is still ‘our candidate,’ his party says
CURITIBA, Brazil (AFP) — Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, imprisoned since the weekend on a corruption conviction, will still be the Workers’ Party candidate in Brazil’s October presidential election, party leaders said Monday. “He is our candidate no matter the circumstances,” party chief Gleisi Hoffmann said outside the police station in the southern city of Curitiba where Lula is locked up. The leftwing ex-president, 72, handed himself into police on Saturday, a day […]
30 dead, mostly children, as India school bus plunges off cliff
SHIMLA, India (AFP) — At least 30 people, including 27 children, were killed Monday in northern India when a school bus plunged into a deep ravine in the Himalayan foothills, police said. The bus carrying young students home in Himachal Pradesh state flew off a cliff near Nurpur, about 325 kilometers (200 miles) from the state capital Shimla, and crashed into a valley. “The bus rolled into 200 feet (60 meters) deep gorge, killing 27 […]
Kim Jong Un discusses future US talks at party meeting: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un discussed future talks with the US at a party meeting, state media reported Tuesday, in his first official mention of dialogue with Washington ahead of a planned summit with US President Donald Trump. At the meeting of party officials Monday, Kim delivered a report “on the development of the recent situation on the Korean peninsula”, including the separate summit with South Korea to be held […]
Russia slams ‘unacceptable’ US bid for Syria gas probe
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Russia rejected a new US proposal Monday to set up an independent investigation to identify those behind chemical weapons attacks in Syria following alleged toxic gas use in a rebel-held town. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters that a draft resolution put forward by the United States “contains some unacceptable elements, which make it worse” than a previous US proposal. © Agence France-Presse
FBI raids offices of Trump’s personal lawyer
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Federal agents on Monday raided the New York offices of President Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who made a $130,000 payment to an adult film actress who says she had an affair with the former real estate magnate. Cohen’s own attorney Stephen Ryan said agents seized “privileged communications” between Cohen and Cohen’s own clients, in part based on a request from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is […]
World must see justice done’ in Syria: Haley
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday urged the United Nations Security Council to act following the latest alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, warning the United States was ready to respond. Russia said a US military strike against Syria would have “grave repercussions” and stressed that the use of chlorine or sarin had not been confirmed in the attack Saturday in Douma. “We have reached the moment when the […]
Trump warns Russia may pay for Syria attack on civilians
by Dave Clark / with Carole Landry at the United Nations Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States – President Donald Trump warned on Monday that Moscow, Tehran and Damascus may be forced to pay a “big price” after the latest alleged chemical weapons atrocity of the Syrian civil war. The American leader met with his cabinet and promised that “major decisions” would be made within the next 24 to 48 hours, amid mounting speculation about a […]
Facebook’s Zuckerberg contrite ahead of grilling in Congress
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg placed the blame for privacy and security lapses at the world’s largest social network squarely on himself as he girded Monday for appearances this week on Capitol Hill before angry lawmakers. In prepared remarks released by a congressional panel, Zuckerberg admitted he was too idealistic and failed to grasp how the platform — used by two billion people — could be abused and manipulated. The 33-year-old […]
