International

South Korea’s Yoon heads to US ahead of Biden summit

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol flew to Washington Monday for a six-day state visit, as the allies move to bulk up military cooperation over North Korea’s expanding nuclear threats. Pyongyang has conducted another record-breaking string of sanctions-defying launches this year, including test-firing the country’s first solid-fuel ballistic missile this month — a key technical breakthrough for Kim Jong Un’s military. In response, Yoon has pulled South Korea closer to […]

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Australia unveils biggest defense reform in decades

by Max Blenkin, with Andrew Beatty in Sydney Agence France-Presse CANBERRA, Australia (AFP) — Australia launched its biggest defence shakeup in decades Monday, vowing to turn a military that is “no longer fit for purpose” into a fighting force that could deter China or any would-be foe. Defense Minister Richard Marles unveiled a strategic review that called for a sharp shift toward long-range deterrence — using missiles, submarines and cyber tools to keep adversaries at […]

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South African rhino-lover seeks billionaire successor

by Claire DOYEN Agence France-Presse JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — He spent his vast fortune on a 30-year quest to save the rhinoceros. Today, at 81, his money is all but gone, and South African conservationist John Hume is throwing in the towel. Later this week, Hume will auction off his rhino farm — the world’s largest — to the highest bidder. “I’m left with nothing except 2,000 rhinos and 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) of […]

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Stench of death engulfs Sudan hospitals, but leaving is mortal danger

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — Ibrahim Mohamed turned in his hospital bed to find the patient next to him had died, but fighting that had erupted in Sudan’s capital hours earlier meant the body could not be moved. Battles since April 15 between the forces of two rival generals have turned Khartoum into a war zone, shuttering hospitals and preventing health professionals from providing care. By the time Mohamed, a 25-year-old leukemia patient, was finally evacuated […]

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Thousands rally outside UK parliament in biodiversity protest

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Thousands of protesters descended on Britain’s parliament Saturday as part of a four-day campaign designed to “highlight the environmental failures” of government. Environmental group Extinction Rebellion (XR) kicked off the event on Friday, promising less disruption and more inclusion than the blockades that became its trademark. The group says thousands of people protested outside government departments in London on Friday “to highlight the environmental and social failures across them all,” […]

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US gymnastics icon Simone Biles marries NFL’s Jonathan Owens

US gymnastics star Simone Biles and NFL Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens announced their marriage on Saturday with photos of their special day posted on social media. It’s a happy ending for Biles, the 2016 Rio Olympic all-around champion and a five-time world all-around champion, and Owens, who signed for the Texans in 2019. The couple announced their engagement in February of last year and among the pictures posted was one with them in front […]

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Whispers, hints, and non-denials ahead of supposed Biden 2024 launch

No one at the White House will openly tell you Joe Biden is announcing his 2024 re-election campaign next Tuesday. And no one will tell you he isn’t. Including Joe Biden. Asked by AFP as he crossed a sun-drenched Rose Garden on Friday whether he was announcing, the president playfully answered: “I don’t know.” Welcome to the Biden mystery reveal party. Here’s what we know. Major US media, led by The Washington Post, quoted multiple […]

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UN reports ‘off the charts’ melting of glaciers

by Robin MILLARD The world’s glaciers melted at dramatic speed last year and saving them is effectively a lost cause, the United Nations reported Friday, as climate change indicators once again hit record highs. The last eight years have been the warmest ever recorded, while concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide hit new peaks, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said. “Antarctic sea ice fell to its lowest extent on record and the melting […]

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Japan puts military on alert fearing North Korean missile

Japan ordered its military Saturday to prepare to shoot down a North Korean ballistic missile after Pyongyang said this week it was ready to launch its first military spy satellite. Placing the satellite into orbit would require a long-range projectile, which North Korea is banned from launching because the United Nations views such exercises as tests of ballistic missile technology. On Saturday Japanese minister Yasukazu Hamada told the country’s Self-Defense Forces “there is a possibility […]

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Philippines raises concerns over Taiwan in talks with China

The Philippines’ top diplomat has expressed his concern to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang over escalating tensions in waters around Taiwan, Manila said on Saturday. Philippine foreign secretary Enrique Manalo met Qin as the two countries seek to deepen economic ties while also managing their dispute in the South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement after the talks. “Secretary Manalo reaffirmed the Philippines’ adherence to the One China Policy, […]

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EU’s Borrell asks European navies to patrol Taiwan Strait

Paris, France | AFP | Saturday 4/23/2023 EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on European navies to patrol the disputed Taiwan Strait, in a opinion piece in a French weekly published Sunday. Borrell’s comments in the Journal Du Dimanche, echo comments he made last week when he stressed how crucial Taiwan is to Europe. Taiwan “concerns us economically, commercially and technologically”, Borrell said. “That’s why I call on European navies to patrol the Taiwan […]

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HRW accuses Vietnam of abducting blogger from Thailand

Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Vietnam of kidnapping a blogger critical of the communist government who was living as a refugee in Thailand. Thai Van Duong, who fled to Thailand in 2019 to escape Vietnamese authorities and was subsequently given refugee status, disappeared last week. According to Vietnamese state media, the 41-year-old is now in custody in Vietnam after being detained for “illegally entering” the country through an unofficial border crossing close to Laos […]

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