International

Egypt’s Sisi urges caution in Iran-Saudi crisis

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AFP) — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday his country does not support a military escalation in regional tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, adding the region already faces enough crises. Sisi spoke at a wide ranging press conference in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh where he addressed  regional disputes and his country’s efforts to tackle jihadist attacks and economic reforms. His comments came as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Saudi […]

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Yemen facing mass famine unless Saudi coalition lifts blockade: UN aid chief

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Yemen is facing a mass famine that will affect millions of lives unless the Saudi-led coalition ends its blockade and allows aid deliveries into the country, the UN aid chief warned Wednesday. Mark Lowcock, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said that unless the borders are re-opened to aid shipments, “it will be the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims.” The UN official spoke […]

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Emboldened Xi, weakened Trump face tough talks

 by Laurent Thomet Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will put their professed friendship to the test Thursday as the least popular US president in decades and the newly empowered Chinese leader hold tough talks on trade and North Korea. Trump will be treated to more pomp and ceremony on the second day of his first state visit to China, the crucial stop in his 12-day, five-nation tour of Asia. The two […]

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Barack Obama answers call for jury duty in Chicago

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — Former US president Barack Obama answered a jury summons Wednesday, arriving at a Chicago courthouse to perform the civic duty asked of all Americans. The former leader of the free world was the only juror to arrive by motorcade, however, accompanied by tight security and met with a throng of news media. As a prospective juror, Obama joined fellow citizens at the courthouse, waiting to see if they are chosen to serve on a […]

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Trump lands in China for talks on North Korea’s ‘cruel dictatorship’

by Laurent Thomet with Jerome Cartillier in Seoul Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing Wednesday for the critical leg of his Asia tour to drum up an uncompromising, global front against the nuclear weapons ambitions of the “cruel dictatorship” in North Korea. Trump heaped more praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping before touching down in Beijing but he also used a speech in Seoul to urge China […]

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Hunting Africa’s Einstein with a science lab on wheels

by Aminu Abubakar Agence France Presse MUDURU, Nigeria (AFP) — A dozen other students look on as Umar Amadu uses a glass pipette to draw a solution from a conical flask as part of a chemistry experiment. It could be a scene from any school laboratory around the world, but until two months ago Amadu and his fellow students had no access to any science equipment. Science subjects at his rural secondary school outside the […]

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Trump aborts surprise visit to Korean DMZ

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US President Donald Trump was forced to abandon a surprise visit to the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two Koreas on Wednesday due to bad weather, leaving him “pretty frustrated” according to the White House. South Korean leader Moon Jae-In, who had flown earlier before the weather closed in, was left waiting at the border which bristles with electric fences, minefields and anti-tank barriers. The US chief executive, who the […]

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Rich and famous in the Paradise Papers

PARIS, France (AFP) — Apple, Bono and Queen Elizabeth II are just a few of the big names and companies revealed in the Paradise Papers leak who have reportedly shifted money across the globe to cut tax. The spotlight on the tax affairs of the rich and powerful comes after a trove of documents was released by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), detailing secretive offshore deals that, while not illegal, are embarrassing […]

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Trump claims progress on ‘worldwide threat’ of North Korea

by Jerome Cartillier Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea poses a worldwide threat that needs worldwide action, President Donald Trump said in Seoul Tuesday, but insisted “we are making a lot of progress” in reining in the rogue state. The US leader, standing alongside his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-In, reiterated he was prepared to use the full range of American military might to halt Pyongyang’s march towards becoming a full-fledged […]

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S. Korea ‘in talks to buy nuclear submarine’ from US: reports

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea is negotiating with the United States to buy nuclear-powered submarines to guard against threats from Pyongyang, local reports said Tuesday, as President Donald Trump said Seoul would buy “billions of dollars” of US weapons. Nuclear-powered submarines can stay submerged for months, giving them a far greater range than their diesel-powered counterparts, and are also crucial to any seaborne nuclear deterrent. Such a purchase would redraw the balance of […]

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6.5-magnitude quake hits PNG

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, according to officials, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The tremor hit at a depth of 107 kilometers (66 miles) some 67 kilometers from the town of Angoram, the administrative center for the Pacific nation’s Lower and Middle Sepik regions, the United States Geological Survey said. No tsunami warning was issued. “A quake of this type can cause damage and […]

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Liberian president says democracy ‘under assault’

MONROVIA, Liberia (AFP) — Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Tuesday that democracy was “under assault” in her nation as several political parties accuse the electoral commission of fraud, delaying the selection of her successor. A runoff vote also due on Tuesday was supposed to represent Liberia’s only democratic transfer of power in seven decades, securing Sirleaf’s legacy as she steps down after 12 years, but the process has now been indefinitely delayed. “At this moment our […]

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