PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — A nine-year-old male lion mauled its owner to death in a village in the east of the Czech Republic on Tuesday morning, police said. “I can confirm the breeder is dead,” regional police spokeswoman Lenka Javorkova told AFP, adding the circumstances of the incident were under investigation. The 34-year-old breeder kept two lions, a two-year-old female and the male, without the required veterinary licence and in an enclosure built without […]
International
Algerian students reject Bouteflika fifth term
ALGIERS, Algeria (AFP) — Thousands of Algerian students marched on Tuesday in protest at ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s determination to stand for re-election, brushing aside his pledge not to serve a full fifth term. The country’s army chief meanwhile delivered a speech slamming unnamed parties he said want to return to the “painful years” of Algeria’s civil war, and pledged to guarantee the country’s “security and stability”. Bouteflika suffered a stroke in 2013 and is […]
Pyongyang ‘rebuilding’ main satellite launch site, photos show
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Activity has been detected at a North Korean long-range rocket site suggesting Pyongyang may be pursuing the “rapid rebuilding” of a test facility after the collapse of the Hanoi summit, according to analysis of satellite imagery from a US think tank. The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says activity is “evident” at the vertical engine test stand and the launch pad’s rail-mounted rocket transfer structure at the […]
Ex-NY mayor Bloomberg rules out run for US president in 2020
by Catherine TRIOMPHE / with Michael Mathes in Washington NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the centrist billionaire Democrat who positioned himself as a potential challenger to Donald Trump, said Tuesday he would not run for president in 2020. “I believe I would defeat Donald Trump in a general election. But I am clear-eyed about the difficulty of winning the Democratic nomination in such a crowded field,” the businessman […]
Canada FM decries China halting canola shipments
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Ottawa’s foreign minister on Tuesday decried Beijing’s move to block a major Canadian canola exporter’s sales in China, the latest escalation in a burgeoning row between the two countries. Canada’s largest agricultural handler, Winnipeg-based Richardson International, had its license to ship canola to China revoked on March 1, which risks leaving Canadian farmers with a glut on their hands. “The situation with the Richardson company concerns me greatly,” said Foreign Minister Chrystia […]
Trump to visit Alabama tornado disaster area
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’ll go later this week to Alabama where tornadoes killed at least 23 people and wrecked swaths of the southern state. “I’ll be heading to Alabama on Friday,” he told reporters at the White House. “It’s been a tragic situation but a lot of good work is being done.” Tornadoes hit the state on Sunday, including a “monster” blast that tore through a strip […]
Japan’s Arata Isozaki wins Pritzker prize, the ‘Nobel’ of architecture
by Thomas URBAIN NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has been awarded the Pritzker Prize, considered architecture’s highest honor, for a lifetime of work that found global resonance while mining local traditions. The 87-year-old’s more than 100 built works range from the Palau Saint Jordi, built in Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Olympics, to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, his first international commission. His hometown of Otai, Japan […]
Trump lashes out at ‘crazy’ opponents as pressure mounts
by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump branded Democratic opponents “crazy” and guilty of overreach Tuesday in a fevered response to a huge new probe of his alleged crimes. In a burst of early morning tweets, the president said the House Judiciary Committee investigation launched Monday was “the greatest overreach in the history of our Country.” “The real crime is what the Dems are doing, and have done!” […]
Illegal US border crossings swell to 76,000 in February
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The number of undocumented immigrants stopped at the US border with Mexico soared to more than 76,000 in February, the highest monthly level in years, US Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday. The number of families and unaccompanied children also rose to nearly two-thirds of the total, often crossing in large groups and turning themselves in to authorities to request asylum, blunting the Trump administration’s tactics aimed at curbing the […]
Three ‘explosive devices’ found in London
LONDON (AFP) — British counter terrorism officers are investigating three “small improvised explosive devices” believed capable of starting small fires that were found in separate locations in London on Tuesday. The suspicious packages containing padded envelopes were found at an office block next to Heathrow Airport, the post room at Waterloo station, and at offices near London City Airport in the east of the capital, according to Scotland Yard. “The packages — all A4-sized white […]
Guaido says Venezuela government silence due to ‘contradictions’
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro kept his silence Tuesday more than 24 hours after opposition leader Juan Guaido, defying a threat of arrest, returned to a hero’s welcome in Caracas. “They’re drowning in contradictions, they don’t know how to respond to Venezuela’s people,” Guaido told reporters, referring to the Maduro regime. Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuela’s acting president, flouted a government travel ban to embark on a 10-day tour of […]
Malaysia joins ICC in boost for beleaguered court
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia has become a member of the International Criminal Court, a minister said Tuesday, in a boost for the beleaguered institution at a time it faces growing criticism. The ICC is the world’s only permanent war crimes court and aims to prosecute the worst abuses when national courts are unable or unwilling. But the tribunal in The Hague has come under fire over high-profile acquittals, while Burundi became the […]
