WORLD

Berlin, Germany | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Berlin on Wednesday to kick off a marathon of tense talks with key European and international leaders as the threat of a chaotic no-deal Brexit looms. On his first foreign visit since taking office, he will seek to convince German …

Melbourne, Australia | AFP | Disgraced Cardinal George Pell lost his appeal against child sex abuse convictions Wednesday, prompting relief from victims who fought to bring one of the Catholic Church’s most powerful men to justice. A former Vatican treasurer, Pell had been trying to overturn the verdicts and six-year sentence …

New York, United States | AFP |  The latest lurches in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China set the stage for a potential repeat of late 2018 when goods flooded into America’s ports to beat new tariffs. US importers, retailers and shippers are bracing for a new round of punitive …

Shanghai, China | AFP | A record $33.5 million is up for grabs but professional eSports players like those competing in The International in Shanghai this week pay a physical price with deteriorating eyesight, digestive problems and wrist and hand damage. At first, Evgenii “Blizzy” Ri looks perplexed at the notion: …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes his debut on the global stage at the G7 summit this weekend, where all eyes will be on his chumminess with US President Donald Trump. The summit in France opens on Saturday, the one-month anniversary of the gaffe-prone Brexit cheerleader …

Bormes-les-Mimosas, France | AFP |  French President Emmanuel Macron and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Monday agreed changes in Ukraine had bolstered the chances of peace in its east but clashed on Syria, as the Russian leader made a rare bilateral visit to a key EU power. Macron, who hosted Putin at …

Controversial study links fluoridated water during pregnancy to lower IQ Washington, United States | AFP | A study published Monday linked consumption of fluoridated tap water during pregnancy to lower IQ scores in infants, a finding at odds with decades of public health messaging extolling the mineral’s benefits in reducing …

Washington, United States | AFP | American tech giants Amazon, Facebook and Google joined forces on Monday to decry the French digital tax as retroactive and discriminatory. President Donald Trump is considering retaliating against the tax — approved July 11 — with punitive tariffs on French wine imports, prompting an …

Lausanne, Switzerland | AFP |  Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the star names on the 10-player short-list announced on Monday by FIFA for its Puskas award for goal of the year. They are joined by three women and five men, with goals scored between July 16, 2018 and July …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | The father of one of the victims of jailed Australian Cardinal George Pell said Monday he hoped “justice would prevail” as a court prepared to rule on an appeal against his conviction of child sex abuse crimes. Pell, the former Vatican number three, is appealing against …