WORLD

Paris, France | Gina Doggett, Laurence Benhamou,  AFP | France’s new President Emmanuel Macron heads to his first EU summit on Thursday pledging to breathe new life into the bloc after Britain’s shock Brexit decision and to bolster European defences in the face of Donald Trump’s “America First” policy. The …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Queen Elizabeth II’s choice of headgear for a speech setting out how the government will implement Brexit raised more than a few eyebrows on Wednesday, causing some to draw comparisons to the European Union’s flag. Twitter users posted pictures of the queen’s blue hat …

Yulin, China | AFP |  A notorious Chinese dog meat festival opened on Wednesday with butchers hacking slabs of canines and cooks frying the flesh despite rumours that authorities would impose a ban this year. After initial reports that authorities would prohibit the meat at the summer solstice event in …

  Washington, United States | AFP |  Republican Karen Handel won a high-stakes, closely-watched special congressional election Tuesday, salvaging a seat in traditional conservative Georgia where Democrats had hoped to strike a blow against Donald Trump’s presidency. Handel, an establishment Republican and former state secretary of state, defeated Democratic challenger …

Saudi king’s son named crown prince: royal decree Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP |  Saudi King Salman on Wednesday named his son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince, completing a gradual removal of powers from the previous prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, who has been fired. According to a royal …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP |  Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in Syria, South Sudan and elsewhere left a record 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the UN said Monday. That number marks a jump of just 300,000 from the end of 2015, but is …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  Drastic cuts in US funding to the United Nations would create an insoluble problem for the world body, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday as he announced plans to lobby US lawmakers to reject the cutbacks. Guterres will travel to Washington next week …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Early results trickled in for Tuesday’s closely-watched election in Georgia, the most expensive congressional race ever, with the Republican narrowly leading a contest that Democrats have painted as a referendum on Donald Trump’s scandal-plagued presidency. The $60-million special election has been a nailbiter between …

Chicago, United States | AFP |  Otto Warmbier, the US student released by North Korea in a coma last week after more than a year in detention, has died, his family said Monday. The 22-year-old, who had suffered severe brain damage, was medically evacuated to the United States on June …

Vienna, Austria | AFP |  Cuba will “never negotiate under pressure,” Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Monday, responding to a toughening of the US line on links with his country. “We will never negotiate under pressure or threat…,” he told reporters in Vienna during a visit to Austria. “Cuba will …