International

Trial begins over assassination of N. Korea leader’s half-brother

by M Jegathesan Agence France-Presse SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (AFP) – Two women go on trial Monday accused of murdering the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, in an audacious assassination in Malaysia that stunned the world and sparked a diplomatic crisis. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong arrived at the heavily guarded court outside the capital Kuala Lumpur for the proceedings, handcuffed and wearing bulletproof vests. The defendants were arrested just days after the killing of […]

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Five injured, suspect arrested as Canada probes ‘act of terrorism’

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) – Canadian police arrested a man early Sunday suspected of stabbing an officer and deliberately ramming pedestrians during a high-speed chase in a rented truck, injuring four in what authorities were calling an “act of terrorism.” The crime spree began Saturday evening outside a football stadium in the western city of Edmonton and ended hours later when the suspect’s U-Haul rental truck flipped onto its side with police in hot pursuit. The suspect, described as […]

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Barricades and sit-ins as Catalan voters face police

by Marianne Barriaux and Anna Cuenca Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain – It was still pitch black when would-be voters lined up in Barcelona early Sunday, braving rain as they hoped to cast ballots in referendum, banned by Spain’s government, on independence for Catalonia. As dawn broke, though, those hopes diminished as news spread that riot police were on the way. And then they arrived. At one polling station, armed, helmeted police broke in to seize ballot boxes prepared […]

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Canada’s Trudeau concerned and outraged over Edmonton attack

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed concern and outrage Sunday over a “terrorist attack” in which five people were injured by a driver who ran over police and pedestrians in a violent rampage. “While the investigation continues, early reports indicate that this is another example of the hate that we must remain ever vigilant against,” he said in a statement.

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Two women stabbed to death in Marseille knife attack

by Francois Becker with Adam Plowright in Paris Agence France Presse MARSEILLE, France — A suspected Islamist knifeman killed two women at the main train station in the French Mediterranean city of Marseille on Sunday before being shot dead by soldiers patrolling there, local officials and police said. One of the victims was fatally stabbed while the other had her throat slit by the assailant who is believed to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is […]

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Italy orders N. Korea ambassador home over missiles

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy has ordered North Korea’s incoming new ambassador to leave the country in a protest over Kim Jong-Un’s missile launches and nuclear tests. Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano announced the move in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, published on Sunday. “We have taken the firm decision to interrupt the accreditation procedure. The ambassador will have to leave the country,” Alfano said. “We want to make Pyongyang understand that isolation is […]

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Machete, origami and reading: life in San Juan a week after Maria

by Leila Macor Agence France-Presse Alejandro Araujo whiles away the day doing jigsaw puzzles. At night, he sleeps on a hammock on the patio, machete at his side. Now that some streets have been cleared of branches and rubble Hurricane Maria left behind, middle class residents of Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan’s outskirts are afraid, and straining to keep up hope. Ten days ago, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and left the American island of […]

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Football: 29 hurt as French stadium barrier collapses

AMIENS, France (AFP) – Twenty-nine fans were hurt, five of them seriously, when a barrier collapsed Saturday at a stadium in the northern French city of Amiens as away supporters celebrated their opening goal. A fence separating Lille fans from the pitch gave way as they surged forward to celebrate the goal against Amiens, a regional rival that has just been promoted to the top flight in French football. Several tumbled about one and a half meters (five […]

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Air strikes kill 28 civilians in Syria safe zone: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — At least 28 civilians were killed in air strikes on northwestern Syria where a planned safe zone has been overshadowed by a bombing campaign against jihadists, a monitor said Saturday. Four children were among the dead in the overnight strikes on the town of Amanaz, in Idlib province near the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based watchdog had earlier reported 12 dead in the strikes on […]

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Poll shows Tokyo governor Koike’s party threat to Abe

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s lead in next month’s election has shrunk as the popular Tokyo governor pushes to unite opposition forces, a survey by Japan’s top-selling daily indicated Saturday. Thirty-four percent of Japanese plan to vote for Abe’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) while 19 percent favor a party formed this week by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, according to the poll in the Yomiuri Shimbun. It also showed one quarter of […]

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Tillerson in China to pile pressure on North Korea

BEIJING, China (AFP) — United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Beijing on Saturday to discuss efforts to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and prepare President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to China. Tillerson was scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping after talks with top diplomat Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, ahead of Trump’s trip in November. The visit comes as relations between the two superpowers appear to be improving after […]

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Iraq cuts Kurdistan air links with outside world

by Wilson Fache with Shwan Mohammad in Sulaimaniyah Agence France Presse ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) — The Iraqi government cut autonomous Kurdistan’s direct air links with the outside world indefinitely on Friday, partially isolating the northern region after it voted a massive “yes” in an independence referendum. The move increases the pressure on the Iraqi Kurds amid soaring regional tensions following Monday’s non-binding but deeply contentious vote. Washington said it did not recognise the “unilateral” referendum […]

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