International

Police swoop as Hong Kong protesters try to flee

    by Anthony Wallace / Catherine Lai  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong riot police swooped on pro-democracy protesters trying to flee a university they had set ablaze Monday, in one of the most violent confrontations seen in nearly six months of unrest. Hundreds of demonstrators clashed throughout the day with police who had threatened to use deadly force, as protests also flared in other parts of the city. Monday’s events were part […]

Car, truck swept away in French bridge collapse

  TOULOUSE, France (AFP) — A suspension bridge over the Tarn river in southwest France collapsed on Monday, sweeping away a car and a truck, rescue workers said. No information on casualties were immediately available. The bridge connects the towns of Mirepoix-sur-Tarn and Bessieres, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of the city of Toulouse. The head of the Haute-Garonne department Georges Meric told AFP that three vehicles were caught in the bridge collapse, without […]

United States, EU back Georgia protesters

  TBILISI, Georgia (AFP) — The United States and European Union expressed solidarity Monday with Georgia’s anti-government protesters who took to the streets after the ruling party backtracked on promises of electoral reforms. In the biggest anti-government protest in years, more than 20,000 demonstrators rallied on Sunday outside the parliament building in the capital Tbilisi urging the government to resign and calling for new legislative elections. In a joint statement, the US and EU embassies said […]

Bolivia leader: Elections will be called soon

by Raúl BURGOA LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Bolivia’s interim president said Sunday she will call new elections soon, as the country struggles with violent unrest a week after the resignation of Evo Morales. “Very soon we will announce news regarding our main mandate: calling transparent elections,” Jeanine Anez said in a speech at the presidential palace. She did not give details, saying only that the announcement will seek the “recovery of our country’s democratic […]

Protesters set fire to hold off police at Hong Kong campus

by Anthony WALLACE / Catherine LAI HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Pro-democracy demonstrators holed up in a Hong Kong university campus set the main entrance ablaze Monday to prevent surrounding police moving in after officers warned they may use live rounds if confronted by deadly weapons. The police warning, which came after one officer was struck by an arrow, marked a further escalation of the near six-month crisis engulfing the city. China has repeatedly warned […]

Hong Kong police warn of ‘live fire’ as campus protest siege deepens

by Aidan JONES / Yan ZHAO HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong police Monday warned for the first time in months of unrest that they may use “live rounds” after pro-democracy protesters fired arrows and threw petrol bombs at officers at a besieged university campus, as the crisis engulfing the city sharply escalated. Protests have tremored through the global financial hub since June, with many in the city of 7.5 million people venting fury […]

Trump issues pardons in US war crimes cases

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned a former soldier convicted of murder and a Green Beret charged with killing a suspected Taliban bomb-maker, defying warnings that the move would be an abuse of the powers afforded him under the US Constitution. Trump dismissed a second degree murder conviction against Army First Lieutenant Clint Lorance, who is six years into a 19-year term for ordering soldiers in 2012 to fire […]

Gunman in US school shooting dies as police puzzled over motive

  by Andrew MARSZAL Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The teenager who gunned down classmates at a California high school before shooting himself died Friday, leaving detectives baffled over the motive of a Boy Scout with no obvious alarm bells in his background. Nathaniel Berhow died in a hospital one day after shooting himself in the head at the end of a 16th birthday rampage that left two fellow students dead. […]

Pig infected with African swine fever washes up in Taiwan

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A floating dead pig infected with African swine fever washed up in Taiwan last week, according to a UN report, which also recorded a fresh mainland China outbreak and an attempt to illegally transport infected pigs. China’s swine herd has been devastated by the outbreak of the disease, first reported by the government in August last year. An update on the crisis from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the […]

Heavy snow leaves one dead, 300,000 homes without power in France

PARIS, France (AFP) — Heavy snowfall across a large swath of southeast France has left one person dead and cut power to some 300,000 homes, with icy conditions snarling train and road traffic Friday. A 63-year-old man was killed Thursday evening in the Isere department after a snow-laden tree fell on him while he was trying to clear away another downed tree, local officials said. Grid operator Enedis said 300,000 homes were without electricity Friday, […]

Thousands in Hong Kong defy Xi with pro-democracy rallies

by Yan ZHAO / Catherine LAI HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to Hong Kong’s streets Friday, defying a warning by Chinese President Xi Jinping, as a campaign of mass disruption extended into a fifth straight day. Black-clad protesters also occupied university campuses, while office workers endured another day of transport chaos with suspensions on the vandalized train network and roads blocked by barricades. Hong Kong has seen relentless protests since […]

Venice faces more floods as state of emergency declared

by Alexandria Sage with Ella Ide in Rome VENICE, Italy (AFP) — Flood-hit Venice was bracing for another exceptional high tide Friday, as Italy declared a state of emergency for the UNESCO city where perilous deluges have caused millions of euros worth of damage. Churches, shops and homes in the city of canals have been inundated by unusually intense “acqua alta”, or high waters, which on Tuesday hit their highest level in half a century. […]