WORLD

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia on Friday expelled Dutch diplomats and told Britain it had one month to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country, hitting back at EU countries after a coordinated campaign by the UK and its allies over a nerve agent attack on a former spy. …

Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said he was “extremely saddened” by France’s position after Paris offered to mediate with the Syrian Democratic Forces dominated by a Kurdish militia deemed a terrorist group by Ankara. “We are extremely saddened by France’s… wrong stance on …

Beijing, China | AFP | Beijing flexed its military muscle this week as its sole operational aircraft carrier apparently took part in a huge naval drill with dozens of other vessels in the South China Sea, satellite images showed. The pictures, taken by Planet Labs Inc., appear to show the …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis washed prisoners’ feet at a Rome jail on Thursday, including two Muslims, an Orthodox Christian and a Buddhist, once again choosing to celebrate Holy Thursday among Italy’s incarcerated. “Everyone always has the opportunity to change life and one cannot judge,” said Francis to …

Richfield, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump insisted Thursday that US forces would pull out of Syria “very soon” and lamented what he said was Washington’s waste of $7 trillion in Middle East wars. In a populist address to industrial workers in Ohio, Trump said US forces …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN’s outgoing political chief expressed concern Thursday in a parting message that the United Nations was losing support from a growing number of countries. Jeffrey Feltman, an American who served as under-secretary-general for political affairs since 2012, said it was “quite worrying” …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the actresses who have claimed sexual abuse by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein “prostitutes” and poured scorn on journalists who have accused a Russian lawmaker of sexual harassment. Peskov, speaking to students in Moscow, said that the …

Washington, United States | AFP | Russia’s expulsion of 60 US diplomats and shuttering of one of its consulates marks a “further deterioration” in relations between Washington and Moscow, the White House said Thursday. The US had ordered a similar number of diplomats from Russia to leave and the shuttering …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States is on track to meet the targets of the Paris climate agreement despite President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw from the accord, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday. Guterres said emissions-cutting plans put in motion by American businesses, regional governments …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the New Britain island of Papua New Guinea on Friday, US seismologists said, but a tsunami threat from the tremor was over. The quake struck at 5:25 pm local time (2125 GMT) about 162 kilometres from the New Britain town …