International

Expanding Turkey President Erdogan’s powers will cripple democracy: opposition leader

by Raziye Akkoc and Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi Agence France Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey will vote against expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers in an April referendum, the leader of the country’s main opposition party has predicted, warning the opposite outcome would cripple democracy by concentrating power in one man’s hands. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Republican People’s Party (CHP) chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu said even some ruling party voters were against a plan that […]

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Landslide at Ethiopia garbage dump kills at least 46

by Chris STEIN Agence France Presse ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — At least 46 people died and dozens more were hurt in a giant landslide at Ethiopia’s largest rubbish dump outside Addis Ababa, a tragedy squatters living there blamed on a biogas plant being built nearby. Saturday’s landslide flattened dozens of homes of people living in the Koshe dump when part of the largest pile of rubbish collapsed, an AFP journalist said. Dagmawit Moges, head […]

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South Korea’s Moon vows ‘new history’ after impeachment

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The front-runner to succeed South Korea’s impeached president Park Geun-Hye on Sunday called for unity as the country writes a “new history”, while hundreds gathered outside the home of the ousted leader in a show of support. The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach Park, effectively removing her from office over a corruption scandal involving her close friend. A presidential election is to be held within […]

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Top Republican challenges Trump to prove wiretapping claim

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A senior Republican lawmaker on Sunday challenged President Donald Trump to prove his claim that his phone was tapped by predecessor Barack Obama during last year’s campaign — or else retract the unsubstantiated allegation. Senator John McCain, a frequent Trump critic, issued his demand in an interview with CNN. “The president has one of two choices, either retract, or to provide the information that the American people deserve,” McCain said. […]

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Bus in Haiti flees accident, kills 34: officials

by Amelie BARON Agence France Presse GONAIVES, Haiti (AFP) –A bus speeding away from a hit-and-run accident plowed into dozens of street musicians in northern Haiti on Sunday, killing 34 people, officials said. Seventeen people also were injured in Gonaives, a city of some 300,000 people located about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of the capital Port-au-Prince. “First, the bus plowed into two pedestrians, killing one of them, and injuring the other,” Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, […]

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Dutch PM says he won’t apologize to Turkey

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Sunday ruled out apologizing for banning Turkish ministers from joining pro-Ankara rallies here, but said he hoped a diplomatic row could be defused. “There’s absolutely no way excuses can be made, they should make excuses for what they’ve done yesterday,” Rutte told reporters as he campaigned for Wednesday’s general election. The Dutch have been particularly angered after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan likened them to […]

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Erdogan warns Netherlands will ‘pay price’ after minister’s expulsion

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) –Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday threatened that the Netherlands would “pay a price” after expelling a Turkish minister and preventing Ankara’s top diplomat from landing ahead of planned rallies. The crisis with the Netherlands is the most serious yet as tensions spiral between Turkey and its EU allies over the desire of top Turkish officials to hold rallies abroad ahead of the April 16 referendum on a new constitution that […]

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Dutch PM defends expulsion of ‘undesirable’ Turkish minister

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Sunday stood by his government’s decision to expel a Turkish minister, saying she had been an “undesirable” visitor to The Netherlands. “What happened yesterday is totally unacceptable,” Rutte told the public NOS broadcaster, after Turkey’s Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya ignored repeated Dutch requests to Ankara not to travel to Rotterdam for a planned rally. “It was undesirable that she was here,” Rutte added, […]

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S. Korea’s impeached Park leaves Blue House: Yonhap

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s impeached ex-president Park Geun-Hye left the presidential Blue House on Sunday, two days after the Constitutional Court’s verdict removing her from office over a massive corruption scandal. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said Park departed from the presidential office at around 1000 GMT and returned to her private residence in southern Seoul, where hundreds of her supporters have been protesting her ouster. The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld […]

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Merkel meets Trump amid tense ties

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Europe’s most powerful leader, Angela Merkel, meets for the first time next week America’s flamboyant President Donald Trump whose arrival in the White House has sent shockwaves across the Atlantic. While former United States president Barack Obama had labelled Merkel his “closest international partner,” there has been little known contact between the German leader and Trump since he took office. Trump’s criticism of Germany over issues ranging from its record-trade surplus […]

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Japan recalls tsunami, nuclear tragedy six years on

  by Harumi Ozawa Agence France Presse TOKYO Japan |(AFP) — Japan paused Saturday to mark six years since a deadly earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster devastated its northeastern coast, as more than 100,000 people remain unable or unwilling to return home. The magnitude 9.0 quake, which struck under the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011, and the tsunami it spawned left about 18,500 people dead or missing. The massive flow of water overwhelmed cooling […]

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Intruder arrested for breaching White House grounds

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — An intruder with a backpack was arrested for breaching the White House grounds while United States President Donald Trump was there, the US Secret Service said Saturday. After scaling an outer perimeter fence at the Washington executive residence just before midnight on Friday, the suspect was arrested by uniformed secret service officers, the agency said in a statement obtained by AFP. Authorities did not find dangerous materials inside the backpack […]

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