International

Jordan king calls for review of bill that sparked protests

  by Kamal Taha © Agence France-Presse AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for a review of a controversial draft tax law Tuesday as anti-austerity protesters staged another night of demonstrations in Amman and trade unions vowed to hold a general strike. For nearly a week, the capital and other cities have been hit by angry rallies against reforms backed by the International Monetary Fund that have brought repeated price hikes. Prime Minister […]

Guatemala toll rises to 73 after strong explosion

  by Henry Morales  et Edgar Calderon © Agence France-Presse ALOTENANGO, Guatemala (AFP) — A powerful explosion sparked a mass evacuation Tuesday of areas already devastated near Guatemala’s Fuego volcano, which officials said has killed at least 73 people since it first erupted over the weekend. Seven communities were evacuated as the volcano’s activity increased, with rescue operations halted. In the city of Escuintla, near the summit, panicked locals rushed to their cars to escape, causing […]

Calls grow in Germany to expel disputed US envoy

by Hui Min Neo © Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — A member of the German government on Tuesday accused the new US ambassador in Berlin of meddling in domestic politics and aggravating already tense ties, as left-wing parties called for the staunch ally of Donald Trump to be expelled. Richard Grenell took up his Berlin posting on May 8 and immediately irked Germany when he tweeted the same day that German companies should stop doing […]

Rights group says 121 dead in weeks of Nicaragua protests

    MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) — At least 121 people have been killed in a wave of protests since April 18 against President Daniel Ortega’s government, Nicaragua’s main human rights group said Tuesday. The latest toll includes a young boy killed by gunfire during clashes Tuesday in the city of Granada between anti-government protesters and riot police, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights said. It said 1,300 people had been wounded in the violence. A parish […]

China mine blast kills 11, traps 25

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — A truck carrying explosives blew up near the entrance of an iron-ore mine in northeast China on Tuesday, killing 11 people, injuring nine and leaving another 25 trapped underground, state media reported. Some 23 victims stuck inside the mine run by Huamei Group — a subsidiary of China National Coal Group Co — in Liaoning province were able to contact rescuers, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The workers were drilling a […]

JUST IN: Eleven dead, 25 trapped in explosion at iron-ore mine in NE China: CCTV

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Eleven people have killed and nine injured Tuesday in an explosion at an iron-ore mine in northeast China’s Liaoning province, state media reported. Twenty-five people are trapped in the mine run by China National Coal Group Co, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The injured have been rushed to the hospital and the municipal government of Benxi, where the accident occurred, has dispatched a rescue team, CCTV said. Deadly mining accidents are common […]

One dead as record storms sweep across France

PARIS, France (AFP) — A man was found drowned in his car in northern France on Tuesday following a fresh round of powerful rainstorms that have damaged homes, destroyed vineyards and flooded roads over the last fortnight. An unusually long bout of warm and humid weather across the country has led to a series of thunderstorms that have dropped record amounts of rain in some areas. National weather service Meteo France said it estimated the […]

Death toll from Tunisia migrant shipwreck rises to 52

KERKENNAH, Tunisia (AFP) — The Tunisian navy has recovered four more corpses from a deadly shipwreck of migrants over the weekend, bringing the official number of victims to 52, the interior ministry said Tuesday. “The toll is now at 52 corpses recovered, 48 of which have been identified,” ministry spokesman Khalifa Chibani told AFP. Chibani said the identified bodies belonged to “36 Tunisians and 12 foreigners”, referring to migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. A total of […]

Singapore to mint Trump-Kim commemorative medallion

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore will strike commemorative medallions to mark the historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the city-state next week. The medallions will depict an “affirmative handshake” between the two leaders, the scheduled date of the summit, and the flags of both countries, the Singapore Mint said in a statement Tuesday. At the back are the national flowers of both countries — roses for […]

The deadliest volcanic eruptions of the past 25 years

PARIS, France (AFP) — After Guatemala’s Fuego volcano erupted on Sunday killing at least 69 people, here is a list of the most deadly volcanic eruptions over the last quarter century. 2014: Japan The sudden eruption of Mount Ontake kills more than 60 people in Japan’s worst volcanic disaster in nearly 90 years. The 3,067 meter (10,121 feet) Ontake is packed with hikers when it erupts without warning in September. Also in Japan, the Unzen […]

Spain’s ousted PM Rajoy to quit as conservative party leader

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Mariano Rajoy, a major figure of Spanish politics over the past 14 years, announced Tuesday he will quit as head of the conservative Popular Party (PP) after being ousted as prime minister last week. “I think the time has come to put a final full stop to this period. The PP must keep advancing and building its history at the service of Spaniards under the leadership of another person,” he told […]

Ukrainian president defends faking journalist’s murder

  MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Ukrainian President Petro Porochenko defended staging the killing of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko to foil what Kiev said was an assassination plot by Moscow, saying in an interview published Tuesday that it was needed to “protect freedom of the press”. “Those who criticize us would they have preferred that the Russian secret services kill this journalist?” Porochenko asked in an interview published in top-selling Spanish newspaper El Pais when asked […]