WORLD

Manila, Philippines | AFP |  China on Sunday scored a diplomatic coup in its campaign to weaken regional resistance against its sweeping claims to the South China Sea when Southeast Asian nations issued a diluted statement on the dispute and agreed to Beijing’s terms on talks. After two days of …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously backed a US-drafted resolution that significantly strengthened sanctions on North Korea, imposing a ban on exports aimed at depriving Pyongyang of $1 billion in annual revenue. The sweeping measures were the first of that scope to be …

  Kigali, Rwanda | AFP |  Rwandans on Saturday celebrated the third term victory of President Paul Kagame who pledged to continue transforming the nation after winning re-election with a record 98 percent of the vote. “I am very pleased. I had hoped for this victory,” said Yvette Uwineza, a …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | A man instructed by Islamic State to bring down an Etihad Airways flight tried to use an unsuspecting passenger to carry a bomb on board, with a second poisonous gas plot also in the works, Australian police alleged Friday. The improvised device, using “high military-grade explosive”, …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | British athletics legend Mo Farah won his 10th successive global title on Friday winning the 10,000 metres world crown at the London Stadium where he won Olympic gold in 2012. The 34-year-old, who will bid to add a third successive world double in the 5000m …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Australia’s prime minister Friday sought to downplay an unflattering account of a controversial refugee swap deal which emerged in a leaked transcript of a bad-tempered phone call with US President Donald Trump. The Washington Post published the full details Thursday of private calls between Trump and …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP |  Jailed Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was taken to hospital Thursday for overnight observation, an official said, as local media reported he was suffering chest pains. Pistorius, 30, is serving a six-year jail term for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, …

Washington, United States | AFP | Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury to investigate Russia’s interference with the 2016 presidential election, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday — a step toward possible criminal indictments. The newspaper, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, reported that the …

Neymar signs five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain  Paris, France | AFP |  Neymar completed his world record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday when he signed a five-year contract, the French club announced. The 25-year-old Brazilian earlier broke his contract with Barcelona by paying a 222 million-euro ($264 million, £201 …

Successful trials held in South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda |JULIA BELLUZ| Developing a vaccine to stop HIV is thought to be among the most daunting challenges in medicine for one big reason: The virus is extraordinarily genetically diverse, even more so than the flu. So it’s difficult to think about how …