Tag: politics

N. Korea to cut communication lines to ‘enemy’ South: KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea will cut military and political communication lines to “enemy” South Korea on Tuesday, state media said, after threats over activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border. Pyongyang “will completely cut off and shut down the liaison line between the authorities of the North and the South, which has been maintained through the North-South joint liaison office,” as well as other communication links “from 12:00 on June 9, 2020,” […]

UK slave trader’s statue toppled in anti-racism protests

by Dmitry ZAKS Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Protesters tore down the statue of a notorious British slave trader Sunday and dumped it in a harbour on the second day of demonstrations against George Floyd’s death. Footage showed a few dozen people tie a rope around the neck of Edward Colston’s statue and bring it to the ground in the southwestern city of Bristol. They stamped on it for a few minutes before […]

Minneapolis council vows police dismantling as protests continue

by Diane DESOBEAU / Brian KNOWLTON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Councilors in the US city of Minneapolis pledged late Sunday to dismantle and rebuild the police department, after the death in custody of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests about racism in law enforcement, pushing the issue onto the national political agenda. Floyd was killed on May 25 when white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the unarmed black man’s neck for […]

Anti-terror unit arrests far-right extremists at US protests

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Three far-right extremists arrested by an anti-terror unit at Las Vegas protests over the killing of an African American man by police were charged Wednesday with inciting violence, officials said. The men allegedly belong to the “Boogaloo” movement, which has adopted Hawaiian shirts as a uniform and which promotes “a coming civil war and/or collapse of society,” said a Nevada federal prosecutor. The US has been roiled by nationwide […]

Spain eyes new tax to rubbish plastic packaging

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The Spanish government on Tuesday proposed new legislation on rubbish that seeks to dramatically reduce single-use plastic packaging, notably by taxing it. The move specifically aims to reduce the plastic cups and bottles used in the fast food and take-away sectors. “If we add up all the waste generated in a year in Spain… it would be enough to fill up the Santiago Bernabeu stadium 2,900 times,” said Environment Minister Teresa […]

New York night-time curfew extended to June 7 after looting

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday extended a night-time curfew for the city until June 7 following outbreaks of violence and looting during anti-racism protests gripping America. The mayor added that the deployment of National Guard soldiers, seen in other protest-hit states and demanded by President Donald Trump, was not necessary, however. De Blasio told reporters that a 8:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew, due to come […]

Russia plans rocket tests, lunar programme resumption

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Sunday put a brave face on the loss of its space travel monopoly, saying it planned to test two new rockets this year and resume its lunar programme in 2021. The comments from the Russian space agency Roscosmoc came after US entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX became the world’s first commercial company to put humans into orbit, signalling the dawn of a new era. Russia had for many years enjoyed […]

Qatar denies Gulf bloc exit rumors

DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar denied on Thursday that it plans to quit the Gulf Cooperation Council as it prepares to mark three years of isolation led by the regional bloc’s heavyweight Saudi Arabia. However, the gas-rich state cautioned that the effort by three of the GCC’s six members to isolate Doha economically and politically meant people in the region were “doubting and questioning” the organization. Rumors of Qatar’s imminent departure from the GCC, founded […]

China approves plan to impose Hong Kong security law

by Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s parliament approved plans Thursday to impose a security law on Hong Kong that has ratcheted up tensions with the US and sparked new protests over fears the city is losing its special freedoms. The vote by the rubber-stamp National People’s Congress (NPC) came hours after the United States revoked the special status conferred on Hong Kong, paving the way for the territory to be stripped of trading […]

Taiwan leader vows ‘action plan’ for Hong Kong protesters

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday pledged a humanitarian “action plan” for Hong Kongers pushing for democracy in the financial hub as an influx of activists seek sanctuary on the self-ruled democratic island. Hong Kong was upended by months of often violent pro-democracy protests last year sparked by rising fears that Beijing is chipping away at the city’s freedoms. Unrest has returned in recent days after Beijing announced plans last week […]

Host Britain asks to delay climate summit to November 2021

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UN environmental agency said Wednesday it has received a request from host nation Britain to postpone this year’s global climate conference until November 2021 because of the coronavirus. This year’s COP 26 summit had been due to take place in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November before the pandemic forced a rethink and the possibility of rescheduling for March 2021. But it now appears it could take place […]

UN says both Koreas broke armistice in DMZ shooting

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — An exchange of gunfire between North and South Korean forces in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula was a violation of the armistice agreement, the United Nations Command (UNC) said Tuesday. The two sides remain technically at war, since fighting in the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953 that was never replaced with a peace treaty. North Korean gunfire hit a Southern guard post on May 3, prompting […]