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LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski late Thursday rejected demands he resign, brushing aside an opposition ultimatum to step down or face impeachment over allegations he received bribes from Brazilian contractor Odebrecht. “I am not going to abdicate my honor, my values or my responsibilities as president,” Kuczynski said in a televised speech to the nation, backed by his ministers. “I won’t run, I won’t hide nor do I have any reason […]
LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) — A firefighter was killed in one of the largest blazes in California’s history, officials said Thursday, as emergency services spent another day struggling to contain infernos across the tinder-dry state. San Diego-based Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson died fighting the Thomas Fire in Ventura County, according to Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott, who gave no further details on the incident. “I am very saddened to report that a firefighter fatality […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan said Friday it had added 19 more entities to its list of organizations and individuals targeted by asset-freeze sanctions on North Korea. The sanctions list now comprises 103 entities and 108 individuals in total, including seven Chinese entities, five Chinese individuals, one Singaporean entity and two Namibian entities, it said. They include organizations involved in financial services, coal and minerals trading, transportation and sending North Korean laborers abroad, the foreign […]
by Becky Davis Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The presidents of China and South Korea sought Thursday to repair ties strained over a US anti-missile defense system, but the beating of a South Korean photojournalist by Chinese security cast a pall over the summit. Relations between Beijing and Seoul have been icy since South Korea allowed the United States to install the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system to guard against threats […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Paul Ryan may be in his final term as speaker of the US House of Representatives and could leave Congress by year end, Politico reported Thursday, in a report that could set off a scramble for a successor. The news outlet cited several people who know Ryan, including fellow lawmakers, congressional aides, conservative intellectuals and party lobbyists, saying they did not expect him to remain in Congress beyond 2018. Asked […]
NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AFP) — Iraq hanged 38 jihadists belonging to the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda for terrorism offences on Thursday in the southern city of Nasiriyah, provincial authorities said. It was the largest number of executions in Iraq on a single day since September 25 when 42 people were put to death in the same prison. “The prison administration executed on Thursday in the presence of Justice Minister Haidar al-Zameli, in Nasiriyah prison, 38 […]
by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US regulators voted Thursday to roll back so-called “net neutrality” rules which required internet providers to treat all traffic equally, in the latest twist to an acrimonious debate over online freedom. The Federal Communications Commission, in a three-to-two vote, adopted a proposal by Republican appointed chairman Ajit Pai, who said his plan would scrap “heavy-handed” rules adopted in 2015 which he argued discouraged investment […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program with US counterpart Donald Trump in a phone call Thursday, the Kremlin said. The two heads of state discussed “the situation in several crisis zones, with a focus on solving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula,” it said in a statement, without elaborating. Washington this week said it was ready to talk to North Korea — which has […]
MILLAS, France (AFP) — At least four children were killed and 19 people injured, seven seriously, on Thursday when a train crashed into a school bus at a level crossing in southern France. The bus, which was carrying around 20 students from a local secondary school, was struck by the train in Millas about 18 kilometers west (11 miles) of the city of Perpignan, close to the Spanish border in mid-afternoon. “The bus was very […]
by Thomas Watkins with Carole Landry at the United Nations Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley presented what she called “undeniable” evidence Thursday that a ballistic missile fired by Huthi rebels in Yemen at Saudi Arabia last month was Iranian-made, a charge Tehran immediately denied. Haley accused Tehran of a “blatant violation” of UN Security Council obligations designed to rein in its missile activity, further […]
BRUSSELS, Jerusalem (AFP) — European Union leaders on Thursday rejected US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, saying they stuck by their view that the city’s status should be settled by negotiation. Trump’s administration invited widespread criticism earlier this month when it officially recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, effectively ignoring Palestinian claims on the city. “EU leaders reiterate firm commitment to the two-state solution and, in this context, the EU […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Air strikes by a US-led coalition killed 23 civilians Wednesday in a village held by the Islamic State group in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province, a monitor said. “At least 23 civilians, among them eight children and six women, were killed Wednesday before dawn by air strikes carried out by the US-led coalition, targeting a village controlled by IS on the eastern banks of the Euphrates river,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory […]
