Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Worldwide arms trade has risen to its highest level since the Cold War in the last five years, driven by a demand from the Middle East and Asia, a study said Monday. Between 2012-2016, arms imports in terms of volume by countries in Asia and …
Read More »Pope calls for quick accord to end DR Congo violence
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday urged leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo to act quickly to resolve its political crisis and curb violence, condemning in particular the use of child soldiers. Violence has flared across the country in recent months, including deadly confrontations …
Read More »Vatican ‘House of Cards’ as pro and anti-pope factions clash
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | A real-life version of the hit political drama “House of Cards” is unfolding at the Vatican, from cardinals openly defying the pope to anonymous posters sullying his name. In the latest episode, a group of powerful Princes of the Church released a statement …
Read More »Russia seeks ‘post-West’ order as US vows loyalty to allies
Munich, Germany | AFP | Russia Saturday called for an end to what it said was an outdated world order dominated by the West after US Vice President Mike Pence pledged Washington’s “unwavering” commitment to transatlantic allies in NATO. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered a diametrically opposed global vision, …
Read More »Russia calls for ‘post-West’ world order
Munich, Germany | AFP | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Saturday for an end to a world order dominated by the West and said Moscow wanted to establish a “pragmatic” relationship with the United States. Lavrov was speaking at the Munich Security Conference shortly after US Vice President Mike …
Read More »Secret Service probes object thrown at Trump motorcade
Palm Beach, United States | AFP | The US Secret Service launched an investigation Friday, after an object was hurled at Donald Trump’s motorcade as it traveled to his Florida resort. As Trump’s motorcade was moving from the airport at West Palm Beach to his Mar-a-Lago home earlier Friday, an …
Read More »Trump vents, insists ‘zero chaos’ in White House
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump insisted there was “zero chaos” in his crisis-hit White House and railed against enemies in the media, politics and the courts Thursday, in a meandering first solo news conference. The 70-year-old US president vented frustrations, wondered out loud about a “nuclear …
Read More »Bird-flu deaths rise in China, shutting poultry markets
Beijing, China | AFP | China is experiencing its deadliest outbreak of the H7N9 bird-flu strain since it first appeared in humans in 2013, killing 79 people in January alone and spurring several cities to suspend live poultry trade. The National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Wednesday that …
Read More »New talks seek to end Syria’s war after nearly six years
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | As Syria’s war approaches its seventh year, two new rounds of talks on resolving the conflict are scheduled to take place in Astana and Geneva. Here are some questions and answers about the upcoming talks: What talks are scheduled? The first meeting is in the …
Read More »US Secret Service chief to retire
Washington, United States | AFP | US Secret Service chief Joseph Clancy will retire in early March, the elite agency tasked with protecting the US president said Tuesday. A former head of US President Barack Obama’s detail, Clancy returned from a previous retirement to steer the agency two years ago, …
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