WORLD

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has invited Pope Francis to visit, saying he would be “ardently welcomed”, South Korea’s presidency said Tuesday, adding it would pass on Pyongyang’s message to the Vatican. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will have an audience with the …

Bali, Indonesia | AFP | The US-China trade war will hobble global growth, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday, cutting its forecast for this year and next and predicting that “everyone is going to suffer” from a clash between the world’s two biggest economies. At a meeting on the Indonesian …

Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump said Monday he was apologizing on behalf of the whole country to his new conservative Supreme Court justice after one of the most contentious confirmation processes in US history. At a White House swearing-in ceremony, Trump stood next to Justice Brett …

Kandak, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s warring leaders signed another peace deal last month, but while the political elites prepare to carve up power once again, hunger and fighting continue far from the capital. “We heard they signed peace, but we’ve yet to see it here,” said Mary …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Sanctions on North Korea will remain in place until Pyongyang carries out “final” denuclearisation, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday. “Sanctions will remain in place until final, fully verified denuclearisation as agreed to by Chairman Kim (Jong Un) occurs,” Pompeo said, speaking in …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter has been suspending more than one million fake and dubious accounts per day, according to The Washington Post, in an aggressive bid to stem the flow of false information. The social media platform has more than doubled its crackdown rate since late …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran on Saturday accused US President Donald Trump of destabilising the oil market with his flurry of tweets taking aim at the OPEC cartel. “These days… the price is dependent on the behaviour of Mr. Trump,” Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on state television. …

Paris, France | AFP | The near 40-year quest for an AIDS vaccine received a hopeful boost Saturday when scientists announced that a trial drug triggered an immune response in humans and shielded monkeys from infection. Shown to be safe in humans, the candidate vaccine has now advanced to the …

Bari, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis on Saturday voiced concern that Christians will disappear from the Middle East amid “murderous indifference” as war rages on. “The Middle East has become a land of people who leave their own lands behind,” Francis said. He was addressing the leaders of almost …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | What do you do when this year’s Nobel Literature Prize, the world’s most prestigious accolade of its kind, is postponed because of a sexual assault scandal? You create your own award. More than 100 Swedish intellectuals have joined forces to form a new prize-giving body …