International

Mexico apologizes to indigenous women for wrongful imprisonment

  (Reuters) — Mexico’s government apologized on Tuesday (February 21) for the wrongful detention of three indigenous women for alleged kidnapping offences they did not commit. The three women, Jacinta Francisco Maciel, Alberta Alcantara and Teresa Gonzalez were detained on the charges in 2006. Their arrest came after police cleared a market the indigenous women where they reportedly worked at. After initial court proceedings the suspects were sentenced to 21 years in prison. The Miguel […]

Female suspects in Kim killing aware of planned poison attack

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Two women arrested over the killing of the North Korean leader’s half-brother in Kuala Lumpur knew they were taking part in a poison attack, Malaysia’s police chief said Wednesday, after reports they believed it was a prank. “Yes, of course they knew,” Khalid Abu Bakar said when asked by a reporter if the women knew they were carrying a toxic substance when they approached Kim Jong-Nam, the half-sibling of Kim […]

Ukraine gas magnate arrested in Austria

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Austria arrested one of Ukraine’s richest men on Tuesday, a fresh twist for the one-time ally of ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Gas magnate Dmytro Firtash was taken into custody over alleged links to organized crime in Spain, moments after a Vienna court ruled he could be extradited to the United States on corruption charges. Firtash, 51, made money through connections with Russian gas giant Gazprom, and was at one time linked […]

North Korea diplomat wanted over Kim killing

  KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian investigators are seeking to question a North Korean diplomat over the killing of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong-Nam, at a Kuala Lumpur airport, national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said Wednesday. Police have put five North Koreans in the frame for the killing and have said they are seeking three more for questioning. Of those wanted for questioning, one is attached to the embassy and one is on the […]

Convicted ex-Hong Kong leader sentenced to 20 months in jail

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang was on Wednesday sentenced to 20 months in prison after a high-profile corruption trial found him guilty of misconduct during his time at the helm of the city. Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the most senior city official ever to be convicted in a criminal trial. © Agence France-Presse

Bodies of 74 migrants wash up on Libya beach

by Hamza Turkia with Rim Taher in Tripoli Agence France Presse HARCHA, Libya (AFP) — The bodies of 74 migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe have washed up on a beach west of the Libyan capital, the Red Crescent said Tuesday. Residents of the village of Harcha, outside Zawiya, 45 kilometres (30 miles) from Tripoli, alerted the emergency services after finding a wrecked boat on the beach with bodies inside, the […]

Canada to welcome 1,200 Yezidi refugees from Iraq

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada will resettle 1,200 Yezidi refugees who faced persecution by the Islamic State group, the immigration minister said Tuesday. Some 400 have already been airlifted to this country. “Our operation is under way and individual survivors of Daesh have been arriving in Canada for resettlement in the last number of months and this began on October 25, 2016,” Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, using an Arabic name for the Islamic State. “Our […]

US sets plan for sweeping crackdown on nearly all illegal immigrants

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The Department of Homeland Security issued tough new orders Tuesday to begin a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigrants, putting nearly all of the country’s 11 million undocumented foreigners in their cross-hairs. Two memos issued by DHS Secretary John Kelly order border patrol and immigration officers to deport as quickly as possible any illegal immigrants they find, with only a few exceptions, principally children. The priority for deportation will remain undocumented immigrants […]

S. Sudan president vows aid access to famine-hit areas

JUBA, South Sudan (AFP) – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir vowed Tuesday that government would ensure aid could reach areas hit by famine after three years of war that has restricted access for humanitarian workers. The world’s youngest nation on Monday declared famine in parts of the northern Greater Unity state where 100,000 people were facing starvation and another one million were on the brink of famine. A total of nearly five million are going […]

ASEAN hopes for completion of Code of Conduct on S. China Sea in June

(Eagle News Service) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Tuesday underscored the importance of completing the framework of a Code of Conduct on the South China Sea by the middle of this year, as it expressed “grave concern” for China’s militarization of several areas in the body of water. In a press conference in Boracay where foreign ministers and senior officials from the regional bloc’s member-states gathered for a meeting, Yasay said ASEAN was […]

Trump wants NATO to step up defense spending by year-end, Pence says

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) — United States Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday (February 20) that President Donald Trump expects European allies to, by the end of the year, make “real progress” in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization pledge to spend more on defense. Pence said at the NATO headquarters in Brussels that although some NATO members respected their commitment to reach 2 percent of the gross domestic product on defense spending, others failed to do so. “The […]