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by Marianne Barriaux Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalans take their independence struggle to the polls Thursday in a hotly-contested election that could mark a turning point for their region just two months after a secession bid ended in failure. The vote pits leaders of the wealthy northeastern region’s separatist movement against parties that want to remain in Spain, and opinion polls suggest both sides’ leading candidates are neck-and-neck. Will voters again hand […]
SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — The Saudi-led coalition conducted multiple air raids in Yemen on Wednesday, a day after Huthi rebels fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh in an attack Washington said was enabled by Iran. The Saudi-led strikes killed 11 civilians in the Huthi stronghold of Saada, a tribal chief and witnesses said, while unidentified assailants attacked Huthis guarding the Sanaa residence of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed by the Shiite rebels […]
by Nova Safo Agence France Presse CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — A YouTube prankster from the US state of Minnesota has admitted to fatally shooting her boyfriend in a botched video stunt she hoped would go viral. Monalisa Perez, a 20-year-old mother-of-two, believed her husband Pedro Ruiz would be shielded by a thick book as she took aim from close range in front of onlookers. She pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree manslaughter and agreed to […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — An earthquake was felt in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday, sending hundreds of people running out onto the streets, AFP journalists reported. The quake measuring 5.2 magnitude struck shortly before 11:30 pm (2000 GMT), according to the seismological center of the University of Tehran. The epicenter of the tremor was located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the capital. Authorities have not yet identified any damage or casualties from […]
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. […]
