International

Palestinians bury their dead after Israel kills nine, including journalist covering border clashes

  by Joe Dyke and Sakher Abou El Oun Agence France Presse GAZA City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Palestinian mourners in the Gaza Strip on Saturday were burying their dead, including a journalist, after Israeli troops killed nine during the latest border clashes in a week of bloodshed. Thousands of protesters approached the border fence around Gaza for a second Friday in a row, burning tires and hurling stones at Israeli forces, who responded with […]

Strong quake rattles Papua New Guinea

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck a remote part of Papua New Guinea on Saturday, US seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) some 195 kilometers west of the town of Mount Hagen, the US Geological Survey said. Much of the Pacific nation is mountainous and remote, meaning it often takes days for information about damage from […]

4 killed as ice hockey team bus crashes with truck in Canada

  OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A bus carrying a junior ice hockey team collided with a truck on a rural highway in Canada’s western Saskatchewan province, killing at least 14 people, local media said Saturday citing police. The Saskatoon Star Phoenix said 14 more were injured — including three critically — in Friday’s accident involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus. The bus was carrying 28 people including the driver. Police said the crash took place […]

Brazil’s Lula negotiates after arrest deadline passes

  by Carola Sole with Sebastian Smith in Rio de Janeiro © Agence France-Presse SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil (AFP) — Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s polarizing election frontrunner and leftist icon, was negotiating his surrender after dramatically skipping a first deadline Friday to start his 12-year prison sentence for corruption. Holed up with thousands of cheering supporters in the metalworkers’ union building in his hometown of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, […]

US congressman pulls loaded gun at constituent meeting

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US congressman pulled out a loaded Smith & Wesson pistol during a meeting with constituents Friday in a bid to make a point about gun safety, according to a local report. House Republican Ralph Norman of South Carolina told The Post and Courier newspaper that he drew the handgun and placed it on a table while at a “Coffee With Your Congressman” event at a diner, in an attempt […]

Russian ex-spy ‘improving rapidly’ after poisoning

  by Joe Jackson with Anna Smolchenko in Moscow © Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The former Russian spy who was found slumped in an English city after being poisoned is no longer in critical condition and is “improving rapidly”, the hospital treating him said Friday. It was the first news of Sergei Skripal’s health improving since the 66-year-old ex-double agent and his daughter Yulia were found poisoned on a bench on March 4 […]

MMA star McGregor released on $50K bail after New York assault

by Jennie Matthew  © Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Irish Mixed Martial Arts superstar Conor McGregor was released on $50,000 bail Friday after being hauled before a US judge on assault and criminal charges over a frenzied attack on a bus of rival fighters that injured two athletes. The 29-year-old, nicknamed “The Notorious,” was filmed lobbing a dolly through a window of the bus in a New York stadium at the end of […]

US imposes sanctions on Putin’s oligarch allies

  by Dave Clark © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States struck President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle Friday, imposing sanctions on seven of Russia’s most influential oligarchs and stoking a diplomatic crisis some have dubbed a new Cold War. Those hit include metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, described as operating for the Russian government, as well as Alexei Miller, director of state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Any assets they hold in areas under US […]

Seven Palestinians killed as new clashes erupt along Gaza border

  by Joe Dyke and Mai Yaghi © Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians as thousands protested and clashes erupted along the Gaza border on Friday, a week after a mass demonstration led to violence and the bloodiest day since a 2014 war. Gaza’s health ministry also reported that 408 Palestinians had been taken to hospitals and medical centres for treatment. The dead included a 16-year-old, it said. At […]

S. Korea’s Park jailed for 24 years over corruption

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s disgraced former president Park Geun-hye was jailed for 24 years Friday for corruption, closing out a dramatic fall from grace for the country’s first woman leader who became a figure of public fury and ridicule. The sentence followed a trial lasting more than 10 months which ended with Park being found guilty on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and abuse of power. “The amount of bribery the accused received […]

S. Korea ex-president Park guilty of abuse of power, bribery: court

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s disgraced former president Park Geun-hye was found guilty of abuse of power, bribery, and coercion by a Seoul court Friday. “The accused is guilty of abuse of power,” said Judge Kim Se-yoon, ruling that Park had forced companies to donate a total of 77.4 billion won ($72 million) to two foundations controlled by her secret confidante Choi Soon-sil. Park’s sentencing will follow the verdicts on the remaining charges […]

Mohammed bin Salman, reformist prince who has shaken Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, who is set to visit France next week, has shaken up the ultraconservative oil superpower with economic, social and religious reforms since becoming crown prince. The 32-year-old de facto ruler has overseen the most fundamental transformation in the modern history of the Gulf nation and sidelined all rivals after emerging as first-in-line last June. Known by his initials MBS, the prince has pledged a “moderate” […]