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by AFP eastern Congo correspondents Agence France-Presse GOMA, DR Congo (AFP) — Pope Francis made repeated appeals for peace during his landmark trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo this week, but there was no let-up in fighting in the east. Putting an end to violence was a dominant theme of the pontiff’s visit to Africa’s largest Catholic country, where he arrived on Tuesday and was to depart for South Sudan on Friday. Dozens of […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — China said on Friday it will fully restore travel across its borders with Hong Kong and Macau next week, dropping Covid testing requirements and daily quotas after a lengthy pandemic separation. The semi-autonomous cities have both stuck to Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy for nearly three years, splitting families, cutting off tourism and suffocating businesses. The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said on Friday that all remaining restrictions would […]
by Paul HANDLEY Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon said Thursday it was tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying high over the United States, reviving tensions between the two countries just days ahead of a rare visit to Beijing by the top US diplomat. At President Joe Biden’s request, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top military officials considered shooting the balloon down but decided doing so would endanger too many people on […]
by David SALAZAR Agence France-Presse TRIÁNGULO DE TELEMBÍ, Colombia (AFP) — From the army helicopter circling overhead, Colombian security forces are able to spot several illegal gold mines in the jungle below. The armed forces land suddenly to be confronted by angry workers, but they brush them off and destroy the machinery used to extract gold. The operation is both a blow to illegal mining and a strike at armed groups that profit from illicit […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday vowed a decisive response to any country threatening Russia and lashed out against Germany for promising tanks for Kyiv. His threats came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the Kremlin was consolidating its forces for a fresh offensive. Zelensky was speaking in Kyiv beside EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, who said the bloc was looking to finalize fresh sanctions against Russia by February 24, […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday said sending fighter jets to Ukraine would require “months if not years” of training and that he was looking for the most effective way of helping Kyiv secure victory. In a pre-recorded television interview to mark his first 100 days as leader, Sunak told TalkTV’s Piers Morgan Uncensored the UK was “always talking to the Ukrainians about the right support they need”. “The […]
by Steven TRASK Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Protesters denounced late Australian cardinal George Pell for his “bigoted” views on Thursday, as the Catholic Church remembered his “remarkable legacy” with a grand funeral mass in Sydney. The Vatican power broker, who died in Rome last month aged 81, will be buried in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral after a Pontifical Funeral Mass steeped in the traditions of the Church. Pell continues to divide […]
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AFP) — At least two people were killed Wednesday and eight wounded when a Russian rocket struck a residential building in the center of the eastern city of Kramatorsk, Ukrainian officials said. AFP saw two bodies at the scene as rescue workers cleared the rubble. “Two hours ago, the Russian occupiers hit a residential building in the center of the city with a rocket and completely destroyed it,” regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — Peru’s congress on Wednesday voted down another bid to advance elections from April 2024 to this year, a move sought by President Dina Boluarte to calm unrest that has left dozens dead in seven weeks of anti-government protests. After five hours of debate, lawmakers rejected a bill that would have advanced elections to December by 68 votes to 54, with two abstentions. Peru has been embroiled in a political crisis with […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea and the United States staged joint air drills featuring an American strategic bomber and stealth fighter planes in response to threats from North Korea, the Yonhap news agency said, drawing an angry rebuke Thursday from Pyongyang. The planes flew Wednesday over the Yellow Sea, located between China and the Korean peninsula, in the first such exercises this year, Yonhap said, citing South Korea’s military. The display of military […]
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) — Jamaica is ready to participate militarily in an international force in Haiti, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said, an intervention the UN has been calling for without success for months to counter record violence by criminal gangs. “Jamaica will be willing to participate in a multinational security assistance deployment to Haiti under the appropriate jurisdictional parameters to support a return to a reasonable level of stability and peace, which would be necessary […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A leading US maker of advanced military surveillance drones announced Wednesday that it was willing to sell two to Ukraine for just $1, and called on the US government to approve the deal. General Atomic Aeronautical Systems said it had been urging Washington for months to provide Ukraine its powerful Grey Eagle and Reaper drones, which US forces have used to great effect in surveillance and targeted attacks over Afghanistan, […]
