WORLD

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the former leader of England’s Roman Catholics, died on Friday after a battle with cancer, the church said. The former archbishop of Westminster, who was 85, was admitted to hospital last month. “Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor died peacefully this afternoon, surrounded by …

United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia on Friday voiced reservations over a French proposal to set up a UN sanctions regime for Mali to punish those who are obstructing a 2015 peace deal. France last month circulated a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on establishing a …

United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday of a looming humanitarian catastrophe in western Myanmar and urged the country’s security forces to show restraint after 400 people — most of them Rohingya Muslims — died in communal violence. “The secretary-general is deeply concerned by …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The United States and South Korea agreed Friday to strengthen Seoul’s defenses and Washington gave a nod to billions in arms sales to the country, the White House said, days after North Korea fired a missile over Japan and threatened further launches. In Seoul, the …

Paris, France | AFP | The annulment by Kenya’s Supreme Court of last month’s presidential poll is a first in Africa, but has several precedents on other continents over the past two decades. – Austria: marathon election – Green-backed Alexander Van der Bellen, who ran as an independent, was declared …

Shanghai, China | AFP | China Construction Bank, one of the country’s “big four” financial institutions, reported a moderate first-half profit rise and improving asset quality as a government crackdown on bad debt kicked in. The bank’s earnings were posted Wednesday night, hours after China’s three other big state-owned lenders announced …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Ordering pizza from the sofa without lifting a finger has joined the list of modern-day conveniences thanks to a hot trend in voice-commanded smart speakers. Amazon, Apple and Google are duking it out with devices designed to sit out of sight in homes, awaiting …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis launches an emotionally charged visit next week to Colombia, to call for reconciliation as the country emerges from Latin America’s longest civil war in a contested peace process. In his fourth visit to his native region of the world since becoming pope …

Venice, Italy | AFP | US actress Annette Bening said Wednesday she believes women are making progress in the movie industry, despite only one female-directed film making it into the competition selection at Venice, where she is chairing the awards jury. “There is sexism of course, no question. But I think …

Miami, United States | AFP | The United States approved the first gene therapy against cancer on Wednesday — a treatment that uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight leukemia — opening a new era in the fight against one of the world’s top killers. The treatment is made …