WORLD

Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday warned his US counterpart Donald Trump against forging ahead with planned tariffs on European steel and aluminium, saying it risked starting a mutually destructive “trade war”. In a telephone call with Trump, the French leader expressed his “deep concerns”, …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Dozens of Italians have been queueing at tax offices to claim money promised by the anti-establishment Five Star Movement in the weekend election — even though the party is not yet in power. A key election pledge of the Five Star Movement (M5S) was to provide …

Washington, United States | AFP | Kim Jong Un’s decision to invite Donald Trump to a historic summit is evidence that the American leader’s efforts to isolate his North Korean counterpart are bearing fruit, US Vice President Mike Pence said Friday. “North Korea’s desire to meet to discuss denuclearization — while …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN human rights chief said Friday that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has launched profanity-laced diatribes against United Nations rapporteurs, needs “psychiatric evaluation”. Listing some of Manila’s actions against UN envoys, including filing terrorism charges against one, rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said …

New York, United States | AFP | A New York judge sought to avoid a testy tech-age free-speech showdown between Donald Trump and people blocked from his Twitter account Thursday, proposing the president just mute rather than block them. In a unique case given rise by Trump’s relentless use of …

Beijing, China | AFP | China on Friday denounced US tariffs on aluminium and steel imports, saying that they would profoundly harm the international trade environment. The US’s “abuse” of national security concerns as a reason for implementing the measures will lead to “a serious attack on normal international trade …

Paris, France | AFP | The Spanish flu outbreak 100 years ago is the modern world’s deadliest epidemic, its toll of more than 50 million surpassing that of World War I. Here is some background. – Why ‘Spanish flu’? – Countries caught up in the 1914-1918 war censored information about …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The stunning announcement that US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will hold an unprecedented meeting is the latest and most astonishing step forward in a flurry of diplomacy. The two and their respective allies fought each other to a …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States has approved a request from Qatar to upgrade the emirate’s air force operations center, officials said Thursday, despite the Gulf diplomatic crisis. Qatar has fallen out with fellow US allies in the Gulf, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Araba …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s FARC said Thursday it is pulling out of the country’s presidential race after its candidate, 59-year-old ex-guerrilla leader Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londono, suffered a heart attack. Ivan Marquez, a senate candidate and senior member of the political party formed by the former Revolutionary Armed Forces …