International

Commonwealth Bank admits anti-money laundering breaches

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s biggest bank, the Commonwealth, has admitted more than 50,000 breaches of anti-money laundering laws, but said it will defend a host of others claims brought against it. The lender, the country’s largest company by market capitalization, was hit with a civil case by Australia’s financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC in August. AUSTRAC alleged the bank engaged in “serious and systemic non-compliance” of anti-money laundering laws involving thousands of transactions. It prompted […]

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Firefighters on top of wildfire in LA’s luxury Bel Air

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Firefighters in Los Angeles said Wednesday they were nearing full containment of a week-old fire caused by “an illegal cooking fire” at a homeless encampment. The blaze, which is 90 percent under control, has scorched 422 acres (170 hectares) since it broke out in the early hours of December 6, destroying six homes in the upscale Bel Air area and damaging 12 others. “We were not aware that there […]

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Chinese, S. Korean leaders meet hoping to smooth tensions

BEIJING, China (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-In will hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, seeking to repair a relationship strained over Seoul hosting a US missile system. Moon’s office has said he hopes to “normalize” ties during the visit after Beijing was angered by the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), installed earlier this year to protect South Korea against threats from the nuclear-armed North. Beijing, which […]

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Recognize East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital: Islamic leaders

by Stuart Williams and Fulya Ozerkan Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Islamic leaders on Wednesday urged world powers to recognize occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of the “State of Palestine”, as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas warned that the United States no longer had a role to play in the peace process. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened an emergency summit of the world’s main pan-Islamic body, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Istanbul, seeking […]

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British PM suffers defeat in Brexit bill

by Alice Ritchie Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday suffered a damaging parliamentary defeat on the eve of a crucial EU summit, after her own MPs rebelled to demand parliament have the final say on a Brexit divorce deal. Eleven members of May’s Conservative party joined with opposition lawmakers to inflict the government’s first defeat over the flagship EU (Withdrawal) Bill, sparking huge cheers in the House of Commons. […]

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Erdogan seeks to urge Muslim leaders into Jerusalem action

by Fulya  Ozerkan and Ezzedine Said Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday chaired an emergency summit of the world’s main pan-Islamic body, seeking to marshal Muslim leaders towards a coordinated response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Erdogan, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will be hoping to unite often feuding Muslim leaders into a tough final statement on the […]

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Harsh Singapore laws stifling free speech: HRW

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia  (AFP) — Singapore is increasingly using harsh laws to severely restrict freedom of speech and assembly, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday, urging authorities to let people publicly debate matters of national interest. A report from the New York-based rights group said that while the financial hub was an economic success, it was time to relax tough regulations which are not in line with international human rights standards. “Singapore promotes itself as a modern nation […]

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South Korean leader starts fence-mending trip to China

BEIJING, China (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-In began his first state visit to China on Wednesday to soothe relations strained by the US deployment of an anti-missile system that has angered Beijing. Moon is also expected to discuss the North Korean nuclear crisis during his four-day trip, which includes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. The US military installed the powerful THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system in the South […]

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Storm-hit Puerto Rico starving for tourists

by Leila Macor Agence France Presse FAJARDO, Puerto Rico (AFP) — Until Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, Jose Figueroa did brisk business renting kayaks to tourists itching to see a lagoon that lights up by night thanks to millions of microorganisms. Today, things are so dire he’s considering selling water to motorists stopped at red lights. “Now we are trying to survive,” the 46-year-old tour guide said. It used to be that visitors had to […]

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Alabama Democrat projected to win US Senate race, blow to Trump

MONTGOMERY, United States (AFP) — Democrat Doug Jones scored a stunning upset victory Tuesday in a fiercely contested US Senate race in conservative Alabama, defeating a controversial Donald Trump-backed Republican who failed to overcome damaging accusations of sexual misconduct. The Democratic victory in the most contentious US election of 2017, and in one of the reddest of deep South states, marks a bitter blow to the president, who gave his full endorsement to Republican Roy […]

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Saudi filmmakers, businessmen eye return of the silver screen

by Alison Tahmizian Meuse Agence France Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Saudi filmmakers and major cinema chains alike are basking in the news the kingdom will lift its decades-old ban on movie theaters, opening a market of more than 30 million people. At the Dubai International Film Festival on Tuesday, short-film directors talked shop on a seaside veranda, the city’s iconic sailboat-shaped hotel in the background. And Saudi Arabia was on everyone’s mind. […]

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First ‘serious incident’ for Japan bullet train as crack found

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A crack has been found in a Japanese “bullet train” that could have caused a derailment, officials said Wednesday, in the first-ever “serious incident” for the iconic mode of transport. Crew aboard a “shinkansen” bullet train reported a burning smell and strange noises when it pulled out of a station in southern Japan on Monday. The train stopped for checks at Nagoya station in central Japan and inspectors discovered a crack […]

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