International

Father of Pac-Man’ Masaya Nakamura dies at 91

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) –Masaya Nakamura, the Japanese video game pioneer known as the “father of Pac-Man”, has died aged 91, his company said Monday. Nakamura, who passed away on January 22, founded a company in 1955 that would later become Namco. The company started out by installing two wooden, mechanical horses on a department store rooftop and went on to develop household and arcade games, theme parks and other amusement facilities. It merged with Japanese […]

King Abdullah of Jordan the first Arab leader in Washington for talks with Trump administration

VIRGINIA, United States (Reuters) — Jordan’s King Abdullah opened talks at the Pentagon on Monday (January 30), the first Arab leader to engage in person the new administration of President Donald Trump. Abdullah held a private breakfast with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and then met U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon. Abdullah has just finished a visit to Russia where President Vladimir Putin thanked Jordan for supporting the Syrian peace process. Jordan […]

Quebec mosque shooter charged with six murders: police

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian police on Monday charged a political science student who has professed admiration for Donald Trump with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder in the shooting at a Quebec City mosque. A police spokesperson said search warrants were still being executed and more charges were expected later, including terror-related charges. © 1994-2017 Agence France-Presse

Obama rejects faith-based discrimination amid travel ban uproar

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former US president Barack Obama expressed his objections Monday to any faith-based discrimination, in an apparent dig at his successor Donald Trump’s ban on nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries entering the country. “With regard to comparisons to president Obama’s foreign policy decisions, as we’ve heard before, the president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion,” his spokesman Kevin Lewis said in a […]

Bangladesh pushes on with Rohingya island plan

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) – Bangladesh will push ahead with a controversial plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to a remote island despite warnings it is uninhabitable and prone to flooding. The government has set up a committee comprising state officials in the coastal districts, ordering authorities to help identify and relocate undocumented Myanmar nationals to Thengar Char in the Bay of Bengal. “The committee will assist transferring both registered and […]

African Union mulls Morocco membership, Trump fallout

by Fran BLANDY Agence France-Presse ADDIS ADABA, Ethiopia (AFP) – African Union leaders grappled with Morocco’s divisive bid to rejoin the bloc at a summit Monday and sounded alarm for the continent over US President Donald Trump’s immigration ban. “The very country (where) our people were taken as slaves… has now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries,” outgoing AU Commission chair Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told some 37 heads of state and leaders from across […]

With 40 kg “stage” on her back, Miss Myanmar wins “national costume” award

  (Eagle News) – Wearing a 40 kilogram costume, including a mini-stage as a backdrop for a traditional puppet dance, Miss Myanmar Htet Htet Htun won the best national costume award at the 65th Miss Universe competition held on Monday at the SM Mall of Asia arena. Her national costume caught the attention of host Steve Harvey who noted that the stage on her back seemed heavy. “I really want to put it down. It […]

Canada will offer temporary residency to those stranded by U.S. ban

OTTAWA, Canada (Reuters) — Canada will offer temporary residency to people stranded in the country as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said on Sunday (January 29). “We will continue to ensure that our immigration system is about compassion, efficiency and economic opportunity and the protection of the health, safety and security of canadians. We welcome that fleeing persecution, terror, and war,” said Hussen at […]

Canada PM condemns mosque shooting as ‘terrorist attack’

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday condemned a Quebec City shooting as a “terrorist attack” after gunmen opened fire at a mosque there, killing at least five. “We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge,” Trudeau said. “Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, city, and country.” © 1994-2017 Agence France-Presse

At least five dead in shooting at Quebec City mosque: media

QUEBEC CITY, Canada (AFP) — At least five people were killed and several people wounded after gunmen opened fire at a mosque in Quebec City late Sunday, media reported. A Quebec police spokesman confirmed that there were people killed, but did not say how many. Two suspects in the shooting were arrested, he said. Police did not rule out the possibility of a third suspect who had fled the scene. The motive of the attack […]

More than 40 detained in Chile for spreading forest fires

SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Authorities have detained 43 people suspected of stoking some of the deadly Chilean forest fires that have killed 11 people and destroyed large swaths of land, President Michelle Bachelet said Sunday. For nearly two weeks, fires have raged across seven regions in the south and central Chile, devastating more than 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres), Bachelet said in her latest update on the tragedy. She added that 43 people had been detained […]

US, S. Korea to ‘strengthen’ defenses against N. Korea

WASHINGTON, United States  (AFP) — US President Donald Trump and South Korea’s Acting President Hwang Kyo-Ahn vowed Sunday to “strengthen” their joint defense capabilities against the belligerent North, the White House said. “President Trump reiterated our ironclad commitment to defend the ROK, including through the provision of extended deterrence, using the full range of military capabilities,” the White House said in a statement, using an acronym for the South’s formal name. “The two leaders agreed […]