WORLD

  Panmunjom, South Korea | AFP | Donald Trump stepped onto North Korean soil Sunday as he met Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, in a symbolic diplomatic spectacle and a first for any American president. After shaking hands with Kim over the line …

Hong Kong, China | AFP |  Once dubbed “Asia’s Finest”, Hong Kong’s police are fighting allegations of using excessive violence against protesters, their headquarters besieged twice in the last week as calls for an independent inquiry into their tactics swell. Pro-democracy lawmaker Wu Chi-wai was aghast as thick clouds of …

Osaka, Japan | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Saturday invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet for a historic handshake at the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula, and said he would have “no problem” stepping over the border. The invitation issued on Twitter caught observers …

Lampedusa, Italy | AFP |  The Sea-Watch 3 charity ship carrying dozens of migrants rescued off Libya forced its way into the Italian port of Lampedusa on Friday night after a lengthy standoff, the charity said. Sea-Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told AFP the boat’s German captain Carola Rackete, 31, was arrested …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | London’s iconic Tower Bridge celebrates its 125th anniversary on Sunday by showing off the weird and wacky alternative designs that were nearly built instead. The globally-recognised landmark which opens and closes for large boats plying the River Thames, has become one of the symbols of …

Carpentras, France | AFP |  Temperatures in France surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) Friday for the first time on record as Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave that has caused several deaths. With France, Spain, Italy and parts of central Europe hard hit by the record-breaking temperatures, officials …

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP |  The US-organised economic workshop in Bahrain failed to deliver tangible results over the long-awaited Middle East peace plan but it opened the door for closer Israeli-Gulf ties, analysts say. Despite this, the normalisation of ties between the Gulf oil monarchies and the Jewish state …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Birds tweet and shears snip as one of Berlin’s many urban gardeners tends her city centre allotment, but behind the tranquil scene a battle is raging over the real estate. “Schrebergaerten”, or allotments, offer city dwellers a chance to grow plants and vegetables in small, private …

Osaka, Japan | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Friday struck a conciliatory tone with fellow world leaders at one of the most high-stakes G20 meetings in years, despite deep divisions on trade and climate change. Host Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, appealed for unity among bickering world leaders …

Ramallah, Palestinian Territories | AFP |  An economic conference intended to kickstart a Middle East peace initiative by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law has failed to convince Palestinians, who boycotted it and treated it with disdain or disinterest. In a rare show of unity, all Palestinian factions condemned the conference in …