International

Malaysia: Two female suspects in Kim killing to be charged with murder

by M JEGATHESAN KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Two women arrested over the nerve agent assassination of Kim Jong-Nam are to be charged with his murder, Malaysia said Tuesday, as North Korea sent a senior diplomat to retrieve the body from the morgue. The spectacular killing of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother with VX, a fast-acting poison developed for warfare, sparked an international probe and lurid stories of Pyongyang’s Cold War-style tradecraft. South Korea says its isolated […]

Samsung heir, 4 other execs indicted for bribery, embezzlement

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The heir to the Samsung empire and four other top executives from the world’s biggest smartphone maker were indicted Tuesday on multiple charges including bribery and embezzlement, South Korean prosecutors said. “Special prosecutors today indicted Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-Yong… for bribery, embezzlement, hiding of assets overseas… and perjury,” said Lee Kyu-Chul, spokesperson for the team probing a corruption and power abuse scandal that has seen President Park Geun-Hye […]

White House: Trump briefly met with China’s top diplomat

WASHINGTON, United States (Reuters) — U.S. President Donald Trump, who has attacked China on issues from trade to the South China Sea, held his first face-to-face talks with a member of the Chinese leadership on Monday (February 27), and the White House said it was a chance to discuss shared security interests and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping. State Councilor Yang Jiechi, China’s top diplomat, met Trump briefly after talks with the new […]

S. Korean retail giant signs deal to host controversial US missile defense system

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean retail giant Lotte on Tuesday signed a deal to provide a golf course that will host a controversial United States missile defense system loathed by Beijing, Seoul’s defense ministry said. Food- and retail-focused Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-biggest company, has come under growing pressure from China, a crucial market, over the proposal. The plan by Washington and Seoul to install the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in […]

More than 1000 South African rhinos killed for their horns in 2016

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Poachers killed 1,054 South African rhinos for their horns in 2016, a 10 percent dip from a year earlier, the environment ministry said Monday. Black market rhino horn sells for up to $60,000 (57,000 euros) per kilo — more than gold or cocaine — with most demand from China and Vietnam where it is coveted as a traditional medicine and aphrodisiac. In the last eight years alone, roughly a quarter of […]

Britain urges Malaysia to share evidence on Kim VX attack

UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — Britain on Monday urged Malaysia to share evidence from the lethal VX nerve gas attack on Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother with the United Nations, which could take action against North Korea. British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said information on the February 13 attack at Kuala Lumpur airport that killed Kim Jong-Nam should be sent to the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. “If they have got evidence, they should […]

With Trump at helm, US takes seat at UN rights council

by Ben Simon Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The US claimed its seat Monday on the Human Rights Council under the new presidency of Donald Trump, whose election has provoked deep concern over the body’s future. Over its 11-year history, the council has come in for criticism, including allegations that it has, at times, been co-opted by rights abusers who push resolutions attacking their geopolitical rivals, with genuine rights issues marginalised. But the 47-member […]

11 dead in Syria government raids, regime gains in Aleppo

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) – Government air raids on northwest Syria killed at least 11 people overnight, mostly civilians, a monitoring group said Monday, while the military said its forces made advances in Aleppo province. “Government warplanes carried out air strikes after midnight on several areas in the town of Ariha” in Idlib province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ head Rami Abdel Rahman. “The preliminary toll is 11 killed, including at least seven civilians,” […]

Iraqi forces in west Mosul aim for key bridge

by Sara Hussein Agence France Presse MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi forces battled jihadists in west Mosul on Sunday, aiming to build a floating bridge across the Tigris to establish an important supply route linked to the recaptured east bank. A week into a major push on the western side of the city, where an estimated 2,000 holdout jihadists and 750,000 civilians are trapped, government forces made steady progress. But after relatively easy gains on […]

US Navy secretary nominee withdraws: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Philip Bilden has withdrawn his nomination as secretary of the US Navy, the Pentagon said Sunday, the latest in a series of nominees to remove their names from consideration to serve under President Donald Trump. “This was a personal decision driven by privacy concerns and significant challenges he faced in separating himself from his business interests,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement, adding that he would soon suggest […]

Nearly 10 anti-migrant attacks a day in Germany: data

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany recorded more than 3,500 attacks against refugees and asylum shelters last year, according to new interior ministry figures, amounting to an average of nearly 10 acts of anti-migrant violence a day. The assaults — coinciding with the country’s bid to cope with a record influx of newcomers — left 560 people injured, 43 of them children, the ministry said in a written reply to a parliamentary question. The government “strongly […]

Man drives into crowd in German town, killing one and injuring two people

  (Reuters) — A man drove into a crowd standing by a bakery in the southwestern German town of Heidelberg on Saturday (February 25), killing one and injuring two people, but a police statement said there were no signs that it was a terrorist attack. Police said a 73-year-old German man died in hospital after being seriously injured and the two other people who were injured – a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman […]