Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Pope Francis’s embrace of the Rohingya during a trip to Bangladesh has sparked some angry comment on social media in Myanmar, where just days earlier he chose not to publicly air their plight. On Friday the head of the Catholic church met a group of …
Read More »Minibus smuggling people into Turkey crashes, killing 10
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | A minibus smuggling people from Syria into Turkey hit a truck on the Turkish side of the border on Sunday, killing 10 people on board and severely injuring seven others, according to the Dogan news agency. The head-on collision happened in Hatay province in the …
Read More »Netanyahu seeks change to bill altering police powers
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Sunday for changes to controversial legislation his opponents say was designed to help him survive ongoing police probes after tens of thousands protested at the weekend. The long-serving prime minister is facing two separate graft probes that have led …
Read More »Trump denies asking FBI to drop Flynn probe
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump denied Sunday having asked then FBI director James Comey to stop investigating ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn, as the Russia meddling probe darkened what would otherwise have been a victorious week for the Republican president. Trump appeared to be backtracking …
Read More »N. Korea blasts ‘dangerous’ US-South joint military drill
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea Sunday blasted the United States and South Korea as “warmongers” on the eve of their largest-ever joint air exercise, saying it could trigger a nuclear war. The comments came as White House National Security Advisor H.R McMaster warned of the “increasing” possibility …
Read More »Erdogan says Turkey cannot be ‘condemned by courts’ in US
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey could never be “condemned by virtual courts” in the US after he was implicated in a scheme allegedly designed to subvert US sanctions on Iran during a trial in New York. Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab had …
Read More »North Korea holds mass celebrations for latest missile test
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korea held mass celebrations for its latest successful long-range missile test, Pyongyang’s state media said Saturday, with the regime accusing Washington of “begging for nuclear war” over planned military drills. To celebrate the missile launch the ruling Workers Party’s official daily Rodong Sinmun …
Read More »Man arrested as smelly socks unleash chaos on Indian bus
New Delhi, India | AFP | Indian police arrested a man whose stinky socks caused a showdown on a bus as his fellow passengers protested the pungent odour, an officer said Saturday. The man removed his shoes and socks on a bus going from the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh …
Read More »Men at higher risk of dying of AIDS than women: UNAIDS
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Men are less likely to test for HIV or access antiretroviral therapy and, therefore, are more likely to die of AIDS-related illnesses than women, UNAIDS said on Friday. Around the world, fewer than half of HIV-positive men are getting treatment, compared to 60 percent of …
Read More »Pope Francis wraps up Asia tour after meeting Rohingya
Dhaka, Bangladesh | AFP | Pope Francis wrapped up a high-stakes Asia tour Saturday after meeting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in a highly symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Muslim minority fleeing violence in Myanmar. The Catholic leader visited a hospital in Dhaka run by the order of Mother Theresa on …
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