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LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Former US President Barack Obama told Britain’s Prince Harry he was concerned social media was “corroding civil discourse,” in what he said was his first interview since leaving the White House, aired Wednesday. “One of the dangers of the internet is that people can have entirely different realities,” he told the prince, who was guest editing BBC Radio 4’s Today program. “They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their […]
by Patrick Lee Agence France-Presse SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (AFP) — An Australian grandmother who said she was tricked into carrying drugs into Malaysia after falling for an online romance scam was Wednesday cleared of trafficking, a crime punishable by death. Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto wept and hugged her son after being found not guilty of smuggling crystal methamphetamine, a rare outcome in a country where hundreds of people have been sentenced to death for drugs […]
ADEN, Yemen (AFP) — Saudi-led air strikes killed 14 civilians in a village market near Yemen’s battleground third city Taez as a nearly three-year bombing campaign intensified, an official and medics said on Wednesday. The Tuesday strikes also killed 11 rebel fighters and wounded 16 civilians, a local official loyal to the Saudi-backed government told AFP. The official, who asked not to be identified, said the strikes were intended as air support for a local […]
by Jung Ha-Won Agence France-Presse NAMYANGJU, South Korea (AFP) — Barking at their rescuers, labradors, beagles and mongrels desperately scrambled out of rusty cages in South Korea: saved from the dinner plate by a deal with dog-meat farmer Kim Young-Hwan. In the face of falling demand, Kim agreed to close his establishment in exchange for compensation from US-based Humane Society International (HSI). The dogs are bound for a new life in adoptive homes in the […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is preparing to launch a satellite, a Seoul newspaper said Tuesday, as outside observers warn that the nuclear-armed regime’s space program is a fig leaf for weapons tests. Pyongyang is under multiple UN sanctions over its nuclear and missile tests and is prohibited from carrying out any launch using ballistic missile technology including satellites. “Through various channels, we’ve recently learned that the North has completed a new […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — The detention of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar was extended for two more weeks, a court said Wednesday, in the pair’s first public appearance since their December 12 arrest under a draconian colonial-era secrecy law. Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27 — Myanmar nationals who had been reporting on a military-led crackdown on Rohingya Muslims — were arrested after being invited to meet police for dinner on the […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Six yachts including the supermaxis are on track to beat the Sydney to Hobart record, powered by favorable winds in what organizers described Wednesday as an “astonishingly fast race.” Regarded as one of the toughest yacht races in the world, the 628-nautical mile (1,163-kilometer) bluewater classic kicked off in Sydney Harbor Tuesday, with 102 competitors sailing down the east coast of Australia. The four 100-footer supermaxis, led by LDV Comanche, were […]
by Edgar Calderon Agence France-Presse GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) – Guatemala on Tuesday said its decision to follow the US in moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was a “sovereign” matter that should not affect ties with other countries. “These are Guatemala’s foreign policy and sovereign decisions,” Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel told a news conference. “In any case, we are open to being able to converse with countries that see it as such, but I don’t […]
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AFP) – A former Ivorian minister was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for complicity in a 2012 attack in western Ivory Coast that killed 18 people, including seven UN peacekeepers. Hubert Oulaye, 64, ex-public works minister under former president Laurent Gbagbo, “provided the financial means to establish a rebellion in the west” of the country, the attorney general said. “The accomplice is sometimes more dangerous than the perpetrator,” she added. […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Four-time major winner Ernie Els clarified his status for the 2018 Masters on Tuesday, saying he is still working to qualify after receiving an honorary invitation to Augusta National next April. A five-year qualifying spot in the Masters from his 2012 British Open triumph ended this year for the 48-year-old South African. Els received an honorary invitation to appear at Augusta National during Masters week in 2018 rather than being granted […]
by Anna Smolchenko Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday rejected concerns that the decision to bar opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running against President Vladimir Putin in a March election could undermine the vote’s legitimacy. Navalny is seen by many as the only Russian opposition leader who stands a fighting chance of challenging Putin. Observers say barring him from running in the polls undermines the legitimacy of the vote and could […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States sanctioned two North Korean officials on Tuesday over the development of ballistic missiles, as Russia and America’s top diplomats held talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Tensions have escalated after the isolated but nuclear-armed regime staged a series of atomic and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, most recently on November 28. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un have also traded personal insults. “Treasury is […]
