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MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Wednesday jailed three men and a woman for up to 8 years for embezzling state funding worth millions of dollars while working as contractors on the construction of the country’s showpiece Vostochny cosmodrome. The four, who controlled or worked for construction companies, were together found guilty of embezzling 1.3 billion rubles ($23 million) from the national prestige project, in the latest blow to Russia’s troubled space industry. Moscow’s Simonovsky […]
by Jean-Luc Renaudie © Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants has agreed to testify against him in a graft probe, Israeli police said Wednesday, in a fresh threat to his long tenure. Two new corruption investigations announced this week, hot on the heels of a police recommendation that Netanyahu face charges in two other cases, have fuelled growing speculation he could be forced to step down or call […]
by Gilles Clarenne with Chris Lefkow in Washington © Agence France-Presse TALLAHASSEE, United States (AFP) — Angered by a shooting rampage that left 17 people dead at a Florida high school, students staged protests in several US cities on Wednesday to turn up the heat on President Donald Trump and lawmakers to take action on gun control. Holding signs reading “Never Again” and “Be The Adults, Do Something,” teenagers who survived last week’s mass shooting at Marjory […]
by Michelle Yun Agence France-Presse TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — From halal fried chicken to hot springs hotels with prayer facilities, Taiwan is adapting its traditional tourist draws to woo Muslim visitors as Chinese arrivals dwindle. Mainland tourist numbers have slid dramatically as China relations deteriorate, with speculation, authorities there are turning off the taps to pressure Taiwan’s Beijing-skeptic government. Taiwan is now looking to boost relations with 16 south and southeast Asian countries, as well […]
by Olivia Hampton Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Mike Pence and North Korean officials had planned to meet secretly during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, but Pyongyang scrapped the talks after the US vice-president denounced abuses from the “murderous regime,” US officials said Tuesday. Pence did not interact with the North Koreans even though he was seated in the same box as them at the opening ceremony of the Games earlier this month […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Americans support stricter gun laws by a more-than two-to-one margin, one of the highest levels on record, a polling agency reported Tuesday one week after the latest US school shooting left 17 people dead. The tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has shocked many Americans, inspired students to launch campaigns to reduce gun violence, and put Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration in the spotlight as they consider […]
by Katy Lee and Clare Gallen © Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron faces a difficult week as lawmakers weigh up a controversial bill that toughens France’s stance on migrants, with even some of his own party reluctant to back it. After France processed a record 100,000 asylum applications last year, Macron vowed to grant asylum faster but also to deport economic migrants more swiftly, while better integrating those who stay. The new […]
by Brian Knowlton © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump signaled support Monday for improving background gun checks amid mounting pressure for reform in the wake of the Florida school shooting, as the accused gunman appeared in court. Nikolas Cruz, charged with killing 17 people, sat silently with his head bowed during a procedural hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in what is expected to be a lengthy and emotional prosecution. Wednesday’s rampage […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada, which takes in more African refugees from Israel than any other nation, has voiced concerns to the Jewish state over its planned mass deportation of African migrants, an official said Monday. A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Ottawa is “concerned” that Israel is working to expel thousands of Eritreans and Sudanese who entered illegally over the years, giving them an ultimatum: leave by April 1 or risk being imprisoned […]
by Emile Kouton with Celia Lebur in Lagos © Agence France-Presse LOME, Togo (AFP) — After six months of political crisis, a dialogue between Togo’s government and the opposition opening on Monday is seen by many as the last chance to resolve a bitter dispute over the rule of embattled President Faure Gnassingbe. But the talks have raised a welter of emotions in this tiny west African country, ranging from hope to incredulity. “It’s a ‘last […]
by Leila Macor / with Andrew Beatty in Washington Agence France Presse POMPANO BEACH, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Friday visited a Florida hospital to offer comfort to those wounded in a mass school shooting, after the FBI admitted it mishandled a tip about the troubled teen behind the massacre that left 17 dead. The arrival of Trump and his wife Melania came at the end of a difficult day […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House on Thursday said that Donald Trump and his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto are working towards a meeting, amid tense relations between the two neighbors. “Both delegations look forward to arranging a meeting, in the near future,” The White House said, adding it would provide the pair an opportunity to “discuss various open issues.” Trump has threatened to tear up a joint trade deal with Mexico and Canada, build […]
