International

Britain’s May apologizes to own MPs for election ‘mess’

by James Pheby Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom –British Prime Minister Theresa May took the blame for the ruling Conservatives’ disastrous performance at last week’s elections, as she faced her party’s angry MPs on Monday, seeking to ward off any challenge to her leadership. “I got us into this mess, and I’m going to get us out,” May told Conservatives MPs during the meeting in Westminster. May’s Conservatives unexpectedly lost their majority in parliament […]

Ex-NBA player Rodman expected to arrive in North Korea on Tuesday -CNN

Reuters – Former National Basketball Association player Dennis Rodman is expected to arrive in North Korea on Tuesday (June 13) for a trip the United States State Department said was not an official US visit, CNN reported on Monday (June 12). Rodman, who has met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on past trips to Pyongyang, declined to answer questions when he was seen by CNN reporters at Beijing International Airport, the network said. […]

Typhoon Merbok makes landfall in south China’s Shenzhen

CHINA (Reuters) – Typhoon Merbok, the second typhoon of the year, made landfall on the coast of Shenzhen City in south China’s Guangdong Province on Monday night, moving northward at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. The typhoon brought strong gales to the Dapeng Peninsula where it made landfall at around 23:00 on Monday, with waves of up to five meters high seen belting a pier. Local maritime authorities had earlier banned all ships […]

French spiderman climbs Barcelona skyscraper harness-free

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) – French “Spiderman” Alain Robert scaled one of the tallest skyscrapers in Barcelona without a harness on Monday. Bystanders and police watched as the 55-year-old climbed up the Melia Barcelona Sky Hotel, a glass and steel covered hotel building known as the fourth tallest tower in the city. The urban climber is famous for his daredevil, harness-free approach to scuttling up buildings with nothing more than some chalk on his hands and […]

Britain’s May wins support of disillusioned lawmakers

LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) – Britain’s Theresa May won a stay of execution from her Conservative Party on Monday (June 12) , winning support from disillusioned lawmakers after losing a parliamentary majority at last week’s national election. The prime minister was described as “contrite” at a meeting of Conservative members called the 1922 Committee, apologising to those politicians who lost their seats in an election she did not need to hold and promising to clear […]

Flooding causes landslides, housing damage in central, east China

CHINA (Reuters) – Downpours swept across much of central and east China on Monday causing flash floods and leading to subsequent disasters such as landslides across many parts. The rain-triggered floods on Monday washed away the road base and caused a collapse of several sections of a local main road in the county of Yongjia of east China’s Zhejiang Province. A bridge section was closed to motorists after its piers were severely damaged in the […]

Life lessons from Trump as he hosts college football champions at White House

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump hosted the Clemson Tigers college football team at the White House on Monday (June 12) to celebrate the team’s national championship victory earlier this year. The president offered congratulations and spoke about what it takes to win. “You never ever gave up, you can never give up in life,” Trump said. Clemson won the championship in January, defeating Alabama 35-31 after a touchdown was scored […]

Merkel hosts G20 outreach talks with African leaders

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday (June 12) hosted talks in the chancellery with a group of African leaders in the framework of the G20 Africa Partnership. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi were among the leaders taking part in the talks, which came at the end of the first day of a two-day G20 conference on Africa. The discussion was set to focus on private […]

One dead after strong quake strikes Greek island village

LESBOS, Greece (Reuters) – One woman was killed on the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday (June 12) after a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the western coast of Turkey, rattling buildings from the Aegean Turkish province of Izmir to the Greek capital Athens. The epicenter of the quake was about 84 kilometers (52 miles) northwest of the Turkish coastal city of Izmir, in the sea south of Lesbos. The National Observatory of Athens put […]

Gulf crisis threatens Qatar Airways transit business: experts

by Ali Khalil Agence France Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Qatar Airways has made Doha a global hub in just a few years, but barring it from Gulf states’ airspace threatens its position as a major transcontinental carrier, experts say. Along with its Gulf peers — Dubai’s Emirates Airlines and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad — Qatar’s national carrier has captured a sizable portion of transit travel, capitalising on the Gulf’s central geographic location. But […]

New Zealand opposition plans to slash immigration

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand’s main opposition party Monday announced plans to almost halve immigration numbers if it wins a September election, with the clampdown focused on international students. Labor Party leader Andrew Little said it was “time for a breather on immigration” in the nation, which has experienced record annual net arrivals of about 70,000 in recent years. Little said his center-left party would cut that by up to 30,000 a year, […]

Trump faces lawsuit over business empire: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Officials in Maryland and the United States capital Washington will sue President Donald Trump for accepting payments and benefits from foreign governments through his business empire, news reports said Sunday night. The suit to be unveiled Monday centers on the so-called emoluments clause, which bans US officials from taking gifts or other benefits from foreign governments. A nongovernment organization that centers on ethics issues filed a similar suit in January. […]