United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged Israel to exercise “extreme caution” on the eve of expected protests in Gaza, a week after Israeli troops killed 18 Palestinians. “I particularly urge Israel to exercise extreme caution with the use of force in …
Read More »Park’s downfall: from student protests to 24-year sentence
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The epic scandal that led Friday to the jailing of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye for 24 years broke more than 18 months ago. The once-popular leader and her confidante Choi Soon-sil were ensnared by allegations of dodgy links with big business, abuse …
Read More »‘Threats, disrespect’ unjustified, Mexican president tells Trump
Mexico City, Mexico | AFP | Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto lashed out at his US counterpart Donald Trump on Thursday amid growing tensions over migration and border security, saying “threatening or disrespectful attitudes” were unjustified. Speaking after Trump ordered National Guard troops to secure the US-Mexican border, Pena Nieto …
Read More »Almost 80% of UK firms pay men more than women: data
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Almost eight out of 10 companies and public sector bodies operating in Britain pay men more than women overall, said data published Thursday confirming long-standing gender inequality in the workplace. Prime Minister Theresa May introduced laws last year to force all employers with more …
Read More »EU tracking 65,000 migrant smugglers: Europol
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | European law enforcement officials say they are tracking at least 65,000 migrant smugglers, twice as many as at the height of the migration crisis three years ago, as the illegal trade booms. Despite a drop in the number of migrants successfully crossing the Mediterranean since …
Read More »Pope shows support for terminally-ill British toddler
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Pope Francis has stepped in to the case of a seriously ill British toddler who is being kept alive on a ventilator. Alfie Evans, who is 22 months old, has a rare degenerative neurological condition which has not been definitively diagnosed. His parents, Tom Evans …
Read More »Macron urged to pressure Saudi prince over Yemen war
Paris, France | AFP | Ten international rights groups called on French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday to pressure Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his country’s bombing campaign in Yemen. Macron is expected to host Prince Mohammed for a three-day trip to France starting Sunday, the latest stop in …
Read More »America remembers Martin Luther King Jr, 50 years on
Memphis, United States | AFP | Americans on Wednesday marked 50 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, a day seared into the national consciousness that transformed the civil rights leader into a symbol of the fight for racial equality. In a country still torn over issues of race …
Read More »YouTube shooting shows how fake news spirals on social media
Paris, France | AFP | Within minutes of the shooting at YouTube offices in California, social media was awash with conspiracy theories and images of the supposed “shooter” wearing a Muslim headscarf. Some Facebook videos were quick to claim that it was a “false flag” attack, carried out to discredit the …
Read More »Rouhani angers Israel with ‘support for terrorists’ jibe
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit out at Iran on Wednesday after President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of supporting “terrorists” in Syria. “Absurdity has no limits: Iran’s terrorist regime that sends tentacles of terror across the region accuses Israel of terrorism,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. “If …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price