International

UPDATED: Number missing in Indonesia ferry disaster jumps again to 192: official

by Lazuardy Fahmi Agence France-Presse SIMALUNGUN, Indonesia (AFP) — As many as 192 passengers could be missing after a ferry sank into the depths of a volcanic lake in Indonesia, the search-and-rescue agency said Wednesday, tripling initial government estimates. But the agency’s head cautioned that it was still unclear how many people were aboard the vessel when it capsized Monday in Lake Toba, a popular tourist destination on Sumatra island. The traditional wooden boat may have […]

Nicaraguan security forces move on opposition bastion

  MASAYA, Nicaragua (AFP) — Nicaraguan police and pro-government paramilitaries moved to reassert control over the city of Masaya by force Tuesday after residents of the opposition bastion declared themselves in rebellion against President Daniel Ortega. Bursts of gunfire resounded in three neighborhoods, including the main entrance to the city, where government forces have gained control, the head of the Nicaraguan Human Rights Association Alvaro Leiva said. Three people were killed in this unrest in Masaya, […]

South Sudan foes set to meet after two years

  ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — The two figures at the centre of the civil war that has ravaged South Sudan are scheduled to meet on Wednesday for the first time in nearly two years. Ethiopia, which has helped broker the meeting, says rebel leader Riek Machar, who fled South Sudan in July 2016, is expected to meet face-to-face with the country’s president, Salva Kiir. The official scope of the talks is broad — to build bridges […]

North Korea’s Kim hails ‘unity’ with China in new visit

  by Becky Davis © Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Kim Jong Un declared North Korea’s unstinting “friendship, unity and cooperation” with Beijing during his third visit to China this year, in a show of loyalty to his main ally following a landmark summit with US President Donald Trump. The two-day visit which ends Wednesday is designed to reassure Beijing that Pyongyang will not neglect its interests as Trump and the young autocrat move into […]

In impoverished Bolivia, president’s new palace an eyesore for some

  LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Bolivia’s new presidential palace is certainly an attention-getter, from its heliport to its 29-story tower and its presidential jacuzzi in South America’s poorest nation. President Evo Morales, the Andean nation’s leftist leader, is shrugging off naysayers. This is “wasteful,” opposition leader Samuel Doria Medina claims. The $34-40 million price tag would be better spent on a cancer hospital, he said. Even a Bolivian cardinal, Toribio Ticona, took the time out […]

US withdraws from ‘cesspool’ UN rights body

  by Dave Clark / with Carole Landry at the United Nations © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States | AFP The United States withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, condemning the “hypocrisy” of its members and its alleged “unrelenting bias” against Israel. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, came to Washington to announce the decision alongside President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Both insisted the United States […]

Toll rises to five after quake in Japan’s Osaka

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The death toll in a powerful earthquake that rocked Japan’s Osaka on Monday has risen to five, with some 370 injured, officials said Tuesday, urging vigilance against landslides ahead of heavy rains. The fifth fatality was a 66-year-old man who was found dead on Tuesday under a number of books and CDs in his home, a local government spokeswoman said. The other casualties were a nine-year-old girl who was killed […]

Israel mum on US claims it hit Iraq militia in Syria

JERUSALEM,Undefined(AF) —Israel declined to comment on Tuesday on a weekend air strike against an Iraqi paramilitary base in eastern Syria after its US ally implicated it in the attack. The Sunday evening strike against the Al-Hari base on the Syrian side of the border with Iraq came less than 24 hours after Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would strike Iran’s “proxies” anywhere in Syria. Fighters of Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, mainly composed of Iran-trained […]

China accuses Trump of ‘blackmail’ after new tariffs threat

by Ryan Mcmorrow © Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing on Tuesday accused Donald Trump of “blackmail” and warned it would retaliate in kind after the US president threatened to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods, pushing the world’s two biggest economies closer to a trade war. Trump said on Monday he had asked the US Trade Representative to target $200 billion worth of imports for a 10 percent levy, citing China’s “unacceptable” move to raise […]

Updated: North Korea’s Kim makes two-day visit to China

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is making a two-day visit to Beijing, Chinese state media reported Tuesday, a week after his unprecedented summit with US President Donald Trump. The outing comes as China has sought to strengthen its role as a mediator between the US and North Korea, where Beijing claims compelling security and economic interests. Dozens of security vans, police cars and armoured vehicles lined streets around Beijing’s Diaoyutai State […]

Erdogan faces biggest challenge in tight Turkey polls

by Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi and Stuart Williams in Istanbul © Agence France-Presse ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday faces the biggest ballot box challenge of his 15-year grip on Turkey, seeking to overcome a revitalized opposition against the background of an increasingly troubled economy. A self-styled heavyweight champion of campaigning, Erdogan has won successive elections since his Islamic-rooted ruling party came to power in 2002, transforming Turkey with growth-orientated economic policies, religious conservatism […]

North Korea’s Kim visiting China Tuesday and Wednesday: state media

BEIJING, China (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is visiting China on Tuesday and Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV said, a week after his unprecedented summit with US President Donald Trump. CCTV did not say whether Kim had arrived in Beijing, but security lined the freeway leading to the city’s airport Tuesday morning as authorities prepared for his arrival. The trip will be Kim’s third to China since March, when he made his inaugural foreign […]