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SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak has admitted receiving $100,000 from the state spy agency while still in office, reports said Thursday after he faced a marathon interrogation by prosecutors over corruption allegations. Lee returned home Thursday after lengthy questioning as he became the last of the country’s living ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry. He denied most corruption charges but admitted taking the off-book funds from the […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday backed Britain’s charge that Russia was responsible for the nerve agent poisoning of a former spy, saying there was “no other plausible explanation”. “Since the start of the week, Britain has kept France closely informed of the evidence gathered by British investigators and of elements demonstrating Russian responsibility in the attack. “France shares Britain’s assessment that there is no other plausible explanation and reiterates its solidarity […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian media on Thursday accused British Prime Minister Theresa May of having “poisoned” relations with Moscow by announcing the expulsion of diplomats in response to the poisoning of a former double agent with a nerve agent. “Theresa May has poisoned relations between London and Moscow,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta headlined its front-page story. Kommersant business daily accused Britain of seeking “toxic responses.” “The crisis in relations between Moscow and London has reached a […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — North Korea’s foreign minister flew into Beijing on Thursday, en route to Sweden which represents US interests in Pyongyang and could play a role in setting up a proposed summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. China’s foreign ministry confirmed reports that Ri Yong Ho was transiting through the Chinese capital on his way to the Scandinavian country. Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing that he […]
by Harry Pearl © Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia is battling a wave of fake news and online hate speech ahead of presidential elections in 2019, as a string of arrests underscore fears it could crack open social and religious fault lines in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. The pluralist nation’s reputation as a bastion of tolerance has been tested in recent months, as conservative groups exploit social media to spread lies and […]
by Martin Parry Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia must avoid a “dance with dictators” when it hosts ASEAN leaders at a special summit this week, and should make human rights a prominent issue, campaigners say. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will welcome heads of government or state from nine of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations heads to Sydney from Friday, including Cambodian strongman Hun Sen and Myanmar’s under-fire leader Aung San […]
by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — When Stephen Hawking postulated in the mid-1970s that black holes leak radiation, slowly dissolving like aspirin in a glass of water, he overturned a core tenet of the Universe. Ever since Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity in 1915, predicting the existence of black holes, it was thought they devour everything in their vicinity, including light. Black holes, it was thought, were […]
By Dexter T. Manglicmot EBC Washington D.C. Bureau WASHINGTON D.C. (Eagle News) — The scenario played out the same throughout the country. Students in campuses across the nation waited for something that they themselves organized to unfold. As their class clocks struck 10 o’clock Wednesday morning they walked out of their classrooms, many onto football fields, some into school auditoriums, and others onto their courtyards and quads. In Washington D.C., however, students found themselves in […]
by Alice Ritchie Agence France Presse British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expelled 23 diplomats and suspended high-level contacts with Russia including for the World Cup, saying her government found Moscow “culpable” of a nerve agent attack on a former spy. May said she would be pushing for a “robust international response” when the UN Security Council meets later Wednesday in New York to discuss the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter on […]
by Frank Zeller Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, bruised by half a year of post-election coalition haggling, was Wednesday narrowly confirmed by parliament to her fourth and likely final term at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy. Lawmakers in Berlin’s glass-domed Reichstag voted 364-315 with nine abstentions for Merkel, who was then formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before taking the oath of office. The outcome of the […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China voiced hope on Wednesday Donald Trump’s sudden firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will not impact bilateral relations or planned talks between the US president and North Korea’s leader. Beijing is believed to have a positive assessment of Tillerson, who was seen as a light touch in contrast to Trump’s “good cop, bad cop” routine of slamming Beijing on Twitter while simultaneously flattering its leadership in person. “We hope […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The death toll from a major earthquake that struck Papua New Guinea last month has risen to 125, police said Wednesday, amid concern that an outbreak of disease will see it jump further. A 7.5-magnitude quake struck the Pacific nation’s mountainous interior on February 26, burying homes and causing landslides, making it hard to reach isolated villages. Police said the toll had now reached 125, up from 100 last week, as […]
