Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea on Wednesday called into question a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump. Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises being held between the US …
Read More »WFP chief urges North Korea to grant more access
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea needs to allow more access and monitoring for international aid, the head of the UN’s World Food Programme said Tuesday following a four-day visit to the country. The WFP is one of the few aid agencies operating in the isolated country, which …
Read More »Missing Commonwealth Games athletes resurface, want asylum in Australia
Sydney, Australia | AFP | A number of African athletes who went missing from the Commonwealth Games last month have resurfaced seeking advice on gaining asylum in Australia, refugee advocates said Tuesday. More than a dozen were suspected of fleeing during the showpiece event on the Gold Coast. Among them …
Read More »Royal wedding a boost for Brexit-bound Britain
Windsor, United Kingdom | AFP | The royal wedding of Prince Harry and his glamorous fiancee Meghan Markle is a moment of light relief for a Britain weighed down by political, social and economic woes. With growth shrinking and the government riven over Brexit, Saturday’s wedding is set to provide …
Read More »France revises growth upwards in boost for Macron
Paris, France | AFP | France’s economy grew 2.2 percent in 2017, according to revised figures published Tuesday — good news for President Emmanuel Macron as he pursues ambitious reforms designed to make the country more competitive. National statistics office INSEE revised its growth for last year up from 2.0 …
Read More »Iran says Israelis should be tried as ‘war criminals’
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran said on Tuesday that Israeli officials should be tried as war criminals over the “brutal massacre” of Gazan protesters the previous day. “The killing of children, women and defenceless people of Palestine and the occupation of Palestinian lands has become the main strategy of …
Read More »US first lady Melania Trump hospitalized with ‘benign’ kidney condition
Washington, United States | AFP | US First Lady Melania Trump had surgery Monday for what aides called a “benign” kidney condition, and will remain in hospital for the rest of the week. The Slovenia-born wife of Donald Trump underwent an embolization procedure, said her communications director Stephanie Grisham. “The …
Read More »In Gaza, a day of blood and sorrow overshadows US embassy move
Gaza, Palestinian Territories | AFP | At Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, people search desperately for loved ones. Some already know they are dead and grimly work their way through bodies. Others have received no news so scour the wards, before descending to the morgue. There a young man cries “Why are …
Read More »Iran does not want ‘new tensions’ in Mideast: Rouhani
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran does not want “new tensions” in the Middle East, President Hassan Rouhani told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, after Israel carried out strikes against what it called Iranian targets in Syria. “Iran has always sought to reduce tensions in the region, trying to …
Read More »‘I was so naive’: Weinstein wife lifts lid on scandal
New York, United States | AFP | The estranged British fashion designer wife of Harvey Weinstein claims she “never” suspected him of wrongdoing and was “so naive,” in her first interview since the Hollywood mogul’s downfall over sexual misconduct revelations. “There was a part of me that was terribly naive …
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