International

Military action against N. Korea an ‘option’: Tillerson

By Park Chan-Kyong SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — United States military action against nuclear-armed North Korea is an “option on the table,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday after warning the policy of strategic patience with Pyongyang was over. In strong statements that appear to signal a sea change in American policy towards the isolated country, the US’ top diplomat said North Korea’s burgeoning missile and nuclear programs must be halted. “Certainly we do not […]

Japan launches latest North Korea spy satellite

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan launched a new spy satellite on Friday, the country’s space agency said, as the region grows increasingly uneasy over North Korea’s quickening missile program. The Radar 5 unit was carried into space on Japan’s mainstay H-2A rocket from a launch site in the country’s southwest. It is meant to replace an existing satellite that is coming to the end of its mission. Japan started putting spy satellites into orbit in […]

Trudeau, Ivanka Trump attend Broadway musical on Canadian hospitality

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Canada’s Justin Trudeau invited United States President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka to attend a Broadway musical celebrating Canadian hospitality toward foreigners following the 9/11 attacks. Ivanka Trump and the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, were guests of honor of the prime minister for the Wednesday night performance of “Come From Away,” a Trudeau spokesperson told AFP. The Canadian Consulate had booked some 600 seats at Broadway’s […]

Ten injured in Etna volcano explosion in Italy

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Ten people were injured by flying rock and lava after Mount Etna, Europe’s biggest active volcano, burst into life on Thursday, according to a BBC journalist and others caught up in a terrifying drama on the upper slopes. The 10 suffered minor burns, cuts and bruises and six were hospitalized. German volcanologist Boris Behncke described on his Facebook page how the explosion was triggered by a build-up of steam after molten […]

China “open to proposals” after Tillerson call for “new approach” to North Korea

BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday (March 16) that it’s open to proposals in dealing with Pyongyang after United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the escalating threat from North Korea’s nuclear program showed a clear need for a “new approach.” Two decades of diplomatic and other efforts, including aid given to North Korea by the US, had failed to achieve the goal of denuclearizing Pyongyang, Tillerson said on Thursday […]

Erdogan lashes out at EU over ‘anti-Islam crusade’

by Fulya OZERKAN / Stuart WILLIAMS Agence France Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused the European Union of starting a “crusade” against Islam and said his country was no longer friends with The Netherlands, further souring relations. Turkey and the EU are locked in their most explosive row in years after Germany and The Netherlands blocked Turkish ministers from campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote in an April referendum on […]

Air strikes on north Syria mosque kill 42: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — At least 42 people were killed and dozens more wounded on Thursday in air strikes on a village mosque in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “The raids by unidentified warplanes targeted a mosque in Aleppo province during evening prayers, killing 42 people, most of them civilians,” said the head of the Britain-based Observatory Rami Abdel Rahman. “More than 100 people were wounded,” he said, adding that many […]

‘Now is not the time’ for Scottish independence vote: May

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday rejected a call by the Scottish government for a second referendum on independence before Britain leaves the European Union — but did not rule out a vote entirely. “I say now is not the time,” she said, arguing that all of Britain’s energies should be put into the forthcoming Brexit negotiations. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced Monday that she wanted a fresh […]

More than 150,000 Iraqis fled west Mosul fighting: ministry

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi authorities said Thursday that more than 150,000 people have fled fighting in and around west Mosul since security forces launched an operation to retake it from jihadists last month. The International Organization for Migration released displacement figures on Wednesday indicating that nearly 100,000 had fled, but those statistics included fewer people residing outside of camps. According to Iraq’s ministry of migration and displaced, 152,857 people have fled the west Mosul […]

Tillerson: 20 years of efforts to denuclearize N. Korea ‘have failed’

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday that two decades of efforts to stop North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have not worked and that a new approach is needed. “I think it’s important to recognize that the political and diplomatic efforts of the past 20 years to bring North Korea to the point of denuclearization have failed,” he told a press conference with Japan’s foreign minister. “In the face of […]

Prince William and Kate to visit Paris almost 20 years after Diana’s death

by Guy JACKSON Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate will pay an official visit to Paris on Friday and Saturday, months before the 20th anniversary of the death of William’s mother Diana in a car crash in the French capital. The second-in-line to the throne and his spouse will meet President Francois Hollande and launch an initiative called “Les Voisins” (The Neighbors) designed to foster closer relations […]

Trump vows to fight revamped travel ban freeze

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to fight a federal court ruling halting his revised temporary ban of refugees and nationals from six Muslim-majority countries, describing the decision as “judicial overreach.” “The law in the constitution gave the president the power to suspend immigration when he deems it to be in the national interest of our country,” he said at a rally in Nashville, Tennessee, following the decision […]