WORLD

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen capped her visit to Lebanon with controversy on Tuesday when she refused to wear a headscarf to meet the country’s top Sunni Muslim cleric. On her last day in the Mediterranean country, Le Pen arrived at Sheikh Abdellatif …

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | Armed men stood guard Tuesday at the morgue holding the body of the assassinated half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un, with officials denying reports the dead man’s son had arrived to claim the remains. The corpse of Kim Jong-Nam — who was killed …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The Department of Homeland Security issued tough new orders Tuesday to begin a sweeping crackdown on illegal immigrants, putting nearly all of the country’s 11 million undocumented foreigners in their cross-hairs. Two memos issued by DHS Secretary John Kelly order border patrol and immigration …

  Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had acute bronchitis on Monday, causing German Chancellor Angela Merkel to call off a visit to Algeria at the last minute, the presidency said. Bouteflika, Algeria’s longest-serving leader, suffered a mini-stroke in 2013 that affected his mobility and speech. The …

Washington, United States | AFP |  President Donald Trump named US Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster as his new national security advisor on Monday, taking over the post left vacant after Michael Flynn’s resignation. Trump called McMaster, a career Army officer and prominent expert on counterinsurgency warfare, a “man of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …