WORLD

Brussels, Belgium | AFP |  Diplomacy can be a white-knuckle ride at times, but French President Emmanuel Macron refused to be shaken when he found himself in an unexpected standoff with US counterpart Donald Trump Thursday. Former reality TV star Trump is known to make visitors flinch with a strong …

Sao Paulo, Brazil | AFP | A group of 91 prisoners escaped a jail in northeastern Brazil on Thursday by fleeing through a 30-meter (100-foot) tunnel, Brazilian media said. Nine of the inmates have been found, while police are attempting to catch the remaining 82 who disappeared from the prison …

  Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | The Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan is due to begin Saturday in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, religious authorities in both countries announced. Ugandan religious leaders at the Muslim Supreme Council also announced fasting would start on Saturday. The announcements came …

Stagnant wages cause household demand to remain depressed, thereby deterring investments  By Bill Emmott If all else fails, try the previously unthinkable. It is not a bad principle for economic policy in the best of times. Today, it may be just what is needed: many Western countries – certainly the …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP |  Libya has arrested a brother and the father of the man suspected of carrying out the bombing in the British city of Manchester, a relative and security sources said Wednesday. The family source, asking not to be identified, said intelligence services had arrested Hashem Abedi, …

Pope risks joke about Trump’s size Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | It could have caused a diplomatic incident but a culinary quip from Pope Francis seemed to have gone down well with Donald Trump and his wife Melania. In one of the lighter moments of his meeting with …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | US President Donald Trump met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday in a keenly-anticipated face-to-face encounter between two world leaders who have clashed repeatedly. The private audience with the pontiff, which lasted just under half an hour, was preceded by a handshake …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Britain raised the terror threat level to “critical” on Tuesday meaning a new attack is believed to be imminent, and soldiers are being deployed to assist armed police, British Prime Minister Theresa May said. “It is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP |  Police on Tuesday named a young man — reportedly British-born of Libyan descent — as the suspect behind a suicide bombing that ripped into young fans at a concert in Manchester, as the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the carnage. Manchester police identified …

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | The man behind a terror attack at a pop concert in Manchester late Monday died when he detonated his device, killing 22 others including children and injuring 59 people, police said on Tuesday. Greater Manchester Police chief Ian Hopkins said the man had set off …