International

Britain urges Iran to stop supplying Yemen rebels

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Monday urged Iran to stop sending weapons into Yemen and instead use its influence to end the conflict, as the Saudi-led coalition’s military intervention enters its fourth year. Saudi Arabia has been leading an aerial bombing campaign in support of the government and against the Iranian-backed Huthi rebels. The United Nations has found Tehran in violation of an arms embargo on Yemen by failing to block supplies of […]

37 dead, dozens of children missing in Siberia shopping mall fire

  At least 37 people were killed when a fire ripped through a busy shopping centre in an industrial city in western Siberia, with scores more reported missing, including children. Images on Russian television showed thick black smoke pouring out of the Winter Cherry shopping centre in the city of Kemerovo, which also houses a sauna, a bowling alley and a multiplex cinema and was packed with people on Sunday afternoon. “At this time, we […]

World cities go dark as Earth Hour climate campaign circles globe

  PARIS, France (AFP) — The Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower and Moscow’s Red Square were among the world landmarks to go dark Saturday, as part of a global campaign to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change. Earth Hour, which started in Australia in 2007, is being observed by millions of supporters in 187 countries, who turned off their lights at 8:30 p.m. local time in what organizers describe as the world’s […]

Obama: N. Korea ‘real threat’, urges co-operation

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — North Korea poses a “real threat” whose solution will require international co-operation, former US President Barack Obama said Sunday on a visit to Japan. Obama also said the US needed to ensure there was a defense system in place to protect countries in the region from a potential attack from North Korean missiles. “North Korea is a real threat” and has developed a weapons program and delivery system that “poses a […]

US rally organizers vow no letup in gun control campaign

by Ian Timberlake Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Student organizers of gun control rallies that drew hundreds of thousands to US streets vowed Sunday there will be no let-up in their campaign for reform. The nationwide protests on Saturday were by far the largest in nearly two decades, part of a reignited gun control debate sparked by last month’s killings at a Florida high school. “This is not the end. This is […]

Updated: Saudi forces intercept seven Yemen rebel missiles in deadly escalation; one reported dead

  by Anuj Chopra Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi forces intercepted seven Yemeni rebel missiles on Sunday, including over the capital Riyadh, in a deadly escalation on the eve of the third anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen. One Egyptian was killed and two of his countrymen were wounded by falling shrapnel in Riyadh, authorities said, with residents reporting loud explosions and bright flashes in the sky shortly before […]

Clashes in Catalonia after Puigdemont arrested in Germany

by Daniel Bosque with Hui Min Neo in Berlin Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Thousands of Catalan separatists faced off with police in Catalonia on Sunday following the arrest in Germany of the region’s former president Carles Puigdemont five months after he fled Spain. Catalan police decked out in riot gear shoved and hit demonstrators with batons to keep the crowd from advancing on the office of the Spanish government’s representative in Barcelona, […]

UPDATED: Death toll rises to 53 in Russia shopping mall fire: agencies

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — At least 53 bodies have been recovered from a fire that swept through a busy shopping center in an industrial city in Siberia, Russian news agencies said Monday. Many people are also still missing from the blaze that broke out Sunday in the city of Kemerovo, the agencies quoted emergency services as saying. A previous toll put the number of dead at 37 with nearly 70 missing, including 40 children. © Agence […]

German police arrest ex-Catalan leader Puigdemont

by Hui Min Neo with Daniel Silva in Madrid Agence France Presse German police on Sunday arrested Catalonia’s former president Carles Puigdemont as he crossed the border with Denmark by car, after Spain’s Supreme Court vowed to prosecute key separatists over their breakaway bid. The arrest puts the fate of Puigdemont in the hands of German courts, which would have to decide whether to hand him over to Spanish authorities to face charges of “rebellion […]

Floridians unite in March for Our Lives

By Klaudine Caday and Renee Suarez EBC Florida Bureau FLORIDA (Eagle News) — Over a month ago the tragic Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting occurred at Parkland, Florida. One week ago thousands of students walked out of their classroom to make a stand. Today hundreds of thousands gathered in 845 sites around the world for the March for Our Lives demanding change on the issue of gun violence. In Miami, residents from all over the […]

Hero French policeman dies after jihadist shooting spree

by Mathieu Gorse and Katy Lee in Paris Agence France Presse President Emmanuel Macron led tributes Saturday to a French policeman who died after offering himself as a hostage to help end an Islamist attack, becoming the fourth victim of the shooting spree and supermarket siege. Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, 45, was among a group of officers who rushed to the scene in the southwestern town of Trebes on Friday after an attacker claiming allegiance to […]