WORLD

Panama City, Panama | AFP | Panama president Juan Carlos Varela declared a national holiday in celebration at the central American country’s first ever qualification for the World Cup. “It’s a historic day for the country. Tomorrow (Thursday) will be a national holiday for public and private sector workers,” Varela said …

Washington, United States | AFP | IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde urged global leaders Wednesday not to reject international trade as policy shifts by Washington and London force resets on major global commercial treaties. Lagarde admitted that the rapid lowering of trade barriers in recent decades had caused significant dislocation, including …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Two prisoners who were invited to meet Pope Francis for lunch on his recent visit to Bologna took advantage of the occasion to escape, local media reports said Wednesday. The two men, who were being held in a rehabilitation facility for drug addicts and prisoners, were …

Sydney, Australia | AFP |  A dead man’s unsent text message leaving his home and pension to his brother rather than his wife and son and signed off with a smiley face emoji has been ruled a legitimate will by an Australian court. The draft message, addressed to the man’s …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean computer hackers have stolen hundreds of classified military documents from South Korea including detailed wartime operational plans involving its US ally, a report said Tuesday. Rhee Cheol-Hee, a lawmaker for the ruling Democratic party, said the hackers had broken into the South’s military …

Shah Alam, Malaysia | AFP | One of the women on trial for murdering the North Korean leader’s half-brother was filmed on CCTV apparently practising on another person two days before the assassination, a court heard Tuesday. Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong was filmed at the airport where Kim Jong-Nam was killed …

Paris, France | AFP | Men whose marriages grow stronger over the years have healthier cholesterol and blood pressure than peers whose unions fall apart, said a study Tuesday that hinted at unexpected health perks of relationship counselling. Researchers got more than 600 men in Britain to rate the “quality” of …

Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump has often lambasted potential allies from his own party but now a Republican has punched back, alleging that the president’s reckless behavior poses a danger to America. Senator Bob Corker’s extraordinary weekend rebuke, in which he tweeted his dismay that “the White …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned his US counterpart Rex Tillerson that Washington risks sparking an unacceptable escalation in tensions with North Korea. In a phone call with US Secretary of State Tillerson, Lavrov “stressed the unacceptability of an escalation of tensions on …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | US economist Richard Thaler won the Nobel Economics prize on Monday for showing that economic and financial decision-makers are not always rational, but mostly deeply human. Bridging the gap between economics and psychology, Thaler’s research focuses on behavioural economics which explores the impact of psychological and …