International

Six dead, eight wounded in Ecuador gang shooting

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, June 20, 2023 (AFP) — Six people were killed and eight wounded Monday in an apparent gang shootout in Guayaquil, a port city in Ecuador terrorized by a wave of violence blamed on a spiraling drug war, authorities said. Police Colonel Marcelo Castillo told AFP that six people had died in Guayaquil’s second mass shooting this month, which appeared to have been a settling of scores between rival gangs. The prosecutor’s office later […]

Rescue teams race to find submersible missing near Titanic wreck

By Joseph Prezioso BOSTON, June 20, 2023 (AFP) – US and Canadian coast guard teams were racing Monday to locate a submersible vessel with five people aboard, including a billionaire tourist, that went missing on a dive to the Titanic’s wreckage in the North Atlantic. The 21-foot (6.5-meter) craft, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, began its descent early Sunday and lost contact with the surface less than two hours later, according to authorities. One of those […]

$1.5 bn pledged to curb Sudan’s slide into ‘death and destruction’: UN

By Robin MILLARD Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Donors at a UN conference on Monday pledged close to $1.5 billion to combat the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and help its neighbors host refugees fleeing the fighting. Sudan is descending into death and destruction at unprecedented speed, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned as he urged donors to step in and curb the unfolding catastrophe. The conference comes midway through a three-day ceasefire which appeared to […]

UN chief urges ‘prevention’ in terror fight

UNITED NATIONS, United States, June 19, 2023 (AFP) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that countries must tackle the “underlying conditions that can lead to terrorism,” such as poverty, to prevent such violence from spreading. “While we have made some significant gains over the years, terrorism and violent extremism continue to take root and grow,” he told a conference on the subject in New York. Guterres called on nations to “stand as one against […]

China, US see progress in Blinken visit but close no gaps

By Shaun TANDON Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Monday he saw headway in the strained relationship with the United States on a rare visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but the rival powers remained at odds over their core disputes. In a symbolic sign of lowering the temperature after soaring tensions, President Xi received Blinken in the vast Great Hall of the People and said the two powers […]

Submersible exploring Titanic wreck missing over 24 hours

By Joseph Prezioso Agence France-Presse BOSTON, June 19, 2023 (AFP) – US and Canadian coast guard teams were racing Monday to locate and rescue a submersible tourist vessel with five people aboard that went missing on a dive to the Titanic’s wreckage in the North Atlantic. The 21-foot (6.5-meter) craft, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, began its descent early Sunday and lost contact with the surface less than two hours later. One of those on board […]

Paris Air Show back with climate, defense in focus

By Mathieu RABECHAULT, Tangi QUEMENER Agence France-Presse PARIS, June 19, 2023 (AFP) — The Paris Air Show opens Monday after a four-year break with the aerospace industry bouncing back from the Covid-19 pandemic but under pressure to slash its carbon footprint. Organizers have billed the biennial event as the “recovery airshow” after the coronavirus ravaged the sector and saw the event cancelled in 2021. The aerospace industry is flocking back to Le Bourget airport outside […]

China, US must choose between ‘cooperation or conflict’, top diplomat tells Blinken

BEIJING, June 19, 2023 (AFP) — China and the United States must choose between “cooperation or conflict”, Beijing’s top diplomat told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, state media reported. “It is necessary to make a choice between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation or conflict,” Wang Yi told Blinken during a meeting in Beijing, according to a readout from Chinese state media. Blinken spoke to Wang — whose position in the Communist Party ranks […]

Indonesia’s Widodo hosts Japanese Emperor

BOGOR, Indonesia, June 19, 2023 (AFP) — Japanese Emperor Naruhito met Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday during his first state trip since ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Naruhito and Empress Masako’s June 17-23 visit to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy came after Widodo invited the emperor during a trip to Tokyo last year. The royal couple arrived at a presidential palace south of the capital Jakarta, flanked by dozens of well-wishers shouting “Welcome to […]

Cyclone leaves 13 dead in Brazil

NOVO HAMBURGO, Brazil, June 19, 2023 (AFP) — A cyclone which tore through southern Brazil has killed at least 13 people and forced thousands from their homes, authorities said Sunday. Torrential rain and strong winds on Thursday and Friday caused damage in dozens of towns in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, including its capital Porto Alegre — the latest in a string of weather-related disasters to hit South America’s biggest country. Two more […]

Sudan donors to meet in Geneva as 72-hour truce enters second day

  KHARTOUM, June 19, 2023 (AFP) – An international donors’ conference for Sudan was set to kick off in Geneva on Monday, one day into a 72-hour ceasefire between the country’s warring generals aimed at allowing for the delivery of desperately needed aid. The army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has since April 15 been battling paramilitary forces commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, after the two fell out in a bitter power […]

Chinese premier in Germany as Western mistrust mounts

By Hui Min NEO Agence France-Presse BERLIN, June 19, 2023 (AFP) – China’s Premier Li Qiang will meet German leaders during a trip to Berlin on Monday, at a time when Beijing’s policies on Russia, trade and human rights are receiving an increasingly hostile reception in the West. Li — who is making his first trip abroad since being appointed premier in March — will begin his two-nation tour with so-called “government consultations” involving talks […]