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SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A North Korean soldier defected to the South on Thursday across the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, Seoul’s defense ministry said. The “low-ranking” soldier made his way across the central part of the land border, a ministry spokesman said. It came a month after a rare and dramatic defection by a soldier at Panmunjom, the truce village where opposing forces confront each other across a concrete dividing line. On […]
by Maryke Vermaak Agence France-Presse JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – The newly elected head of South Africa’s ruling ANC party called for unity and an end to “vested interests” in politics in his maiden speech Thursday after a bruising leadership contest. Cyril Ramaphosa told roughly 5,000 members of his African National Congress party gathered outside Johannesburg for the much-delayed climax of a five-day conference that the public wanted the “leadership to be united.” President Jacob Zuma has […]
KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — Hundreds of thousands of children are at imminent risk of being hit by mines and other explosive weapons in war-torn eastern Ukraine, one of the most mine-contaminated places on earth, a UN report said Thursday. A bloody conflict between Ukraine’s army and Russian-backed rebels has endangered 220,000 children who live, play and go to and from school in areas littered with landmines and other deadly explosive devices, the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund […]
by Jerome Cartillier Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Looking out over the South Lawn of the White House, flanked by the lawmakers who had just handed him the greatest victory of his tumultuous young presidency, Donald Trump drank in the scene. For this most unconventional of presidents — impulsive, unpredictable, so often frustrated by the exercise of power — it was payback time at last. In the chill December air, under a pale sky dotted […]
by Carole Landry Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – The United Nations’ top human rights official, a sharp critic of US President Donald Trump, declared Wednesday, December 20, that he will not tone down his message to seek re-election in his post. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told staff in an email he would not bargain away his agency’s integrity when his job comes up for renewal in August. […]
by Dave Clark and Douglas Gillison Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States slapped sanctions on Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov on Wednesday, accusing Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s key regional ally of personal involvement in repression, torture and murder. Kadyrov was added to the US Treasury’s blacklist along with Chechen security official Ayub Kataev and three Russians linked to the corruption case uncovered by deceased whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. The sanctions were authorized under the 2012 Magnitsky Act, […]
VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — New Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday used his first post-election speech to vow to make “combating anti-Semitism in all its forms” a top priority. “We will determinedly fight anti-Semitism in all its forms — those already existent but also imported into our country as an essential duty of our government,” said the youthful conservative whose coalition also contains the hard right Freedom Party. Kurz made his vow three days after neighboring Germany’s interior […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday accepted the resignation of her deputy Damian Green, who announced he was stepping down following a probe into his conduct. “It is therefore with deep regret, and enduring gratitude for the contribution you have made over many years, that I asked you to resign from the government and have accepted your resignation,” May wrote in a letter addressed to Green, the First Secretary of State. […]
by Michael Mathes Agence France-PresseUnited States – President Donald Trump hailed a historic victory Wednesday as the US Congress passed a massive Republican tax cut plan, handing him his first major legislative achievement since taking office nearly a year ago. The House voted along party lines to green-light a $1.5 trillion overhaul that will impact every corner of the US economy through dramatic tax cuts for corporations and temporary reductions for individuals. “I promised the American […]
by Danny Kemp with James Pheby in London Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Commission said Wednesday that it wants a post-Brexit transition period, during which Britain must continue to obey EU rules, to finish at the end of 2020. Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said that “all EU policies will still apply” during the transition to a new relationship between London and Brussels after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa […]
SANAA, Yemen (AFP ) – The Saudi-led coalition carried out a string of air raids Wednesday in Yemen, killing 11 civilians in the Huthi stronghold of Saada a day after the rebels fired a missile at Riyadh, a tribal chief and witnesses said. On the ground, unidentified assailants attacked Huthis guarding the Sanaa residence of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed by the Shiite rebels earlier this month. An unspecified number of Huthi guards died in the attack, […]
by Carole Landry with Jerome Cartillier in Washington Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States – President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to cut funding to countries that vote against the United States on a motion at the United Nations condemning Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The UN General Assembly will hold an emergency session Thursday to vote on a draft resolution that the United States vetoed at the Security Council after all other 14 countries backed […]
