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BEIJING, China (AFP) — President Xi Jinping said Friday that China wants to reach an initial trade deal with the United States but is “not afraid” to fight back when necessary. Xi made the remarks two days after US President Donald Trump complained that Beijing had not made sufficient concessions so far, making him reluctant to conclude a bargain. The world’s two biggest economies have been locked in a bruising trade conflict for more than […]
by Joe Dyke and Steve Weizman JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday became the country’s first prime minister to be indicted in office, on corruption charges, but defiantly condemned the “coup” against him and vowed to hold onto power. The shock announcement compounded the political chaos gripping Israel, which has been without a government for months and faces the prospect of its third election in a year. After months of suspense, Israel’s […]
Buildings shook as far away as Bangkok after a shallow 6.1-magnitude earthquake that hit northwestern Laos near the Thai border early Thursday, alarming locals who felt the shaking. Tremors could be felt more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) away in the Thai capital, where Catholic Church’s Pope Francis is currently on a four-day visit. The quake hit at 6:50am (2350 GMT Wednesday), roughly three hours after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake in the same region triggered […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman urged arch-rival Iran on Wednesday to abandon an expansionist ideology that has “harmed” its own people, following violent street protests in the Islamic republic. A wave of demonstrations erupted in the sanctions-hit country on Friday after an announcement that petrol prices would be raised by as much as 200 percent with immediate effect. “We hope the Iranian regime chooses the side of wisdom and realizes there […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US envoy on North Korea acknowledged Wednesday that Pyongyang has not yet taken verifiable action to denuclearize and called on the regime to “seize the moment.” Stephen Biegun, testifying to Congress on his nomination to be deputy secretary of state, also called for North Korea to step up its level of representation in talks. “There is no meaningful or verifiable evidence that North Korea has yet made the choice […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Senate unanimously adopted legislation Tuesday supporting “human rights and democracy” in Hong Kong and threatening to revoke its special economic status, angering China which promptly summoned a US diplomat and threatened countermeasures. The lawmakers also approved a measure that would ban the sale of tear gas, rubber bullets and other equipment that have been used by security forces to suppress pro-democracy protests for nearly six months. Chinese […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — The US and South Korea will postpone joint air drills in an “act of goodwill” towards the nuclear-armed North, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday, after months of deadlocked diplomacy with Pyongyang. North Korea has long protested joint military drills, which it condemns as preparations for invasion, and has set Washington an end-of-year deadline to come up with a new offer in deadlocked negotiations on its weapons programs. The […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is “no longer interested” in summits with the US unless Washington offers new concessions in their nuclear negotiations, Pyongyang said Monday, hours after Donald Trump hinted at the prospect. “You should act quickly, get the deal done,” Trump tweeted Sunday, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “See you soon!” Kim and Trump have met three times since June last year, but talks have been gridlocked […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A coal mine explosion killed 15 people in north China’s Shanxi province, state media reported Tuesday. Nine other people were injured by the gas explosion on Monday afternoon, which took place in a mine owned by Shanxi Pingyao Fengyan Coal & Coke Group Co, according to official news agency Xinhua. Xinhua reported that 35 miners were working underground when the blast happened, but 11 miners were able to escape. The injured […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Some families of the 39 Vietnamese people found dead in a truck in Britain last month will borrow money from the government to repatriate their relatives’ remains, they told AFP Tuesday. Vietnam’s foreign ministry said they would help to bring either the ashes or the bodies of the victims back — but that families would have to cover the cost of repatriation. The price to bring ashes back in a jar […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — One fisherman was killed and 11 others reported missing after their boat caught fire off South Korea’s southern coast, authorities said Tuesday. The coast guard said the accident happened west of Jeju island. Local authorities said 12 crew members had been on board — six South Koreans and six Vietnamese nationals. Only one body — the badly burned corpse of a South Korean — had so far been recovered, […]
by Catherine Lai HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Dozens of exhausted pro-democracy protesters barricaded inside a Hong Kong university defied warnings Tuesday to surrender, as a police siege of the campus dragged into a third day and China sent fresh signals that its patience with nearly six months of unrest was running out. High school students were among those holed up inside the battered Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), fearing arrest or being shot at […]
