WORLD

Washington, United States | AFP | A female singer has accused a former campaign manager for President Donald Trump of repeatedly slapping her behind during a party at Washington’s Trump International Hotel in November, according to US website Politico. Joy Villa — a Trump supporter who wore a “Make America …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Record crowds flocked to Japan’s Imperial Palace on Saturday to celebrate the 84th birthday of Emperor Akihito as he prepares to abdicate in April 2019. Around 45,900 people — the biggest birthday crowd of the emperor’s three-decade reign — thronged the palace for his address, according …

Washington, United States | AFP | US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday ordered an investigation into allegations that the Obama administration undermined efforts to target Hezbollah drug trafficking. The announcement comes after Politico reported that Project Cassandra, a program targeting trafficking by Iran-backed Hezbollah that could have undermined the push …

Washington, United States | AFP | Free speech activists and opponents of Donald Trump on Friday welcomed the acquittal of six protesters charged over unrest on the US president’s inauguration day. They were among more than 200 people accused in connection with the January 20 protests, some of whom have …

Tegucigalpa, Honduras | AFP | Honduras appeared to have pulled back from the brink of crisis on Friday, after the opposition candidate admitted defeat in a disputed presidential poll and the United States recognized the incumbent as the victor. Leftist flag-bearer Salvador Nasralla conceded shortly after Honduras’ key ally Washington endorsed …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Economist named France as its country of the year on Thursday, saying new President Emmanuel Macron had upset the odds to strike a victory for open societies and reform. The London-based weekly news magazine said the battle between open and closed visions of society …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | The Swedish government proposed on Thursday a law that would make any involuntary sex rape, even without explicit threats or violence, after the country was rocked by the #MeToo campaign denouncing sexual harassment and assault. “The incidence of sexual offences is increasing in Sweden, with younger …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Catalonia’s ousted separatist leader Carles Puigdemont saw his independence drive vindicated after he led the separatist bloc to a big win in a crucial election on Thursday from exile in Belgium. “The Spanish state has been defeated,” he told supporters in Brussels after his Together for …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey summoned a senior United Arab Emirates diplomat on Thursday to complain about a tweet by an Emirati minister that infuriated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported. The Emirates’ foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan this week retweeted a post on Twitter in …

Warsaw, Poland | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May was left smirking at a press conference with her Polish counterpart on Thursday after a translator accidentally called her “Madam Brexit”. May was in Warsaw for talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, with the discussions inevitably turning to Britain’s 2019 departure …