International

US casino mogul resigns from Republican finance post

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Las Vegas casino billionaire Steve Wynn stepped down Saturday as Republican National Committee finance chairman, following allegations of decades of sexual misconduct. The 76-year-old former business rival turned political ally of President Donald Trump had assumed the RNC position after Trump took office in January 2017. Wynn has denied the allegations, first published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, and accused his ex-wife Elaine of instigating the accusations as […]

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‘Deportados Brand’: Mexicans stand up to Trump with T-shirts

by Yussel Gonzalez © Agence France-Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Few people know gate “N” at Mexico City’s airport but three times a week it is the arrival point for the latest group of Mexican immigrants deported by the United States. Waiting to meet them is Adan Jacome. Jacome, 45, goes to the terminal to offer the support of a group of immigrants also repatriated to Mexico, and who are the brains behind “Deportados Brand,” a small […]

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Families voice anger over deadly South Korea hospital fire

by Jung Ha-Won © Agence France-Presse MIRYANG, South Korea (AFP) — Distraught relatives of those killed in a deadly South Korean hospital fire voiced anger Saturday at what they perceived as another man-made disaster in Asia’s fourth largest economy, just as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics. The huge blaze that erupted at the hospital in the southeastern city of Miryang Friday killed at least 37 people including 34 patients — mostly elderly women — and three […]

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Paris braces for floods as swollen Seine inches higher

by Amélie Bottollier-Depois © Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Paris was on high alert Saturday as the swollen Seine continued to creep higher, with forecasters warning the river could stay high throughout next week, especially if more rain is dumped on France. Leaks started to appear in some basements Friday, while some residents on the city’s outskirts were forced to travel by boat through waterlogged streets. The Louvre, Musee d’Orsay and Orangerie museums are on high […]

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Leading Hong Kong democracy activist banned from vote

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — One of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy activists was banned Saturday from standing as lawmaker in upcoming elections, the latest blow to freedoms in the city as Beijing tightens its grip. Agnes Chow, 21, a former leader of the mass Umbrella Movement protests of 2014 that called for political reform, had her nomination rejected because she supports self-determination for the semi-autonomous city, the government said. It comes as fears grow that […]

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Germany asks US court to drop Namibian genocide suit

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The German government said Friday it had asked a US court to throw out a lawsuit brought by indigenous groups from Namibia seeking reparations for the genocide of their peoples under German colonial rule. It was the first time Berlin has formally responded to the class-action suit launched by the Herero and Nama people last year over the tens of thousands killed in the 1904-1908 massacres. Berlin’s position “is that the […]

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Dutch police launch biggest-ever DNA hunt for boy’s killer

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch police on Friday launched the country’s biggest ever DNA search, asking over 20,000 men to come forward as they seek to resolve the 1998 murder of a young boy. “Some 21,500 men will receive a personal invitation in February to voluntarily give DNA samples,” police said in a statement. “It’s the largest such DNA investigation in search of family ties ever carried out in The Netherlands.” Eleven-year-old Nicky Verstappen […]

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California wants 5 million ‘green’ cars on roads by 2030

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California Governor Jerry Brown Friday signed an executive order detailing aims to have five million electric cars on the state’s roads by 2030 — by accelerating the production of such vehicles using financial incentives and rebates. The $2.5 billion, eight-year plan also involves the installation of 250,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 200 hydrogen fueling stations by 2025. “To continue to meet California’s climate goals and clean air standards, […]

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Spanish tourists ‘raped, robbed’ in southern Senegal

ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal, Africa (AFP) — A group of Spanish tourists were robbed and raped in Senegal’s restive Casamance region by armed men, a security source and state media said on Friday. The tourists’ vehicle was stopped near the village of Karonge, around 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the regional capital Ziguinchor, a security source told AFP. “There were four Spanish tourists. A man and three women were being driven by a Senegalese driver. They were […]

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Mattis wants to keep pressure on N. Korea

HONOLULU, United States (AFP) – The United States and South Korea are going to keep tightening the screws on Pyongyang so that the hermit state gives up its nuclear program, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday. “As two peace-loving nations, the Republic of Korea and America welcome the Olympic Games talks between the ROK and DPRK while at the same time remaining steadfast with the international economic pressure campaign to denuclearize the Korean peninsula,” Mattis said in […]

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US trade commission blocks 300% tariffs on Bombardier CSeries planes

by Douglas Gillison Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – A bipartisan US trade panel on Friday blocked the government’s decision to impose nearly 300 percent punitive tariffs on airplanes manufactured by Canada’s Bombardier, in a dispute that has inflamed relations with Ottawa. The US International Trade Commission voted 4-0 that there was no injury to US manufacturers, which effectively forces President Donald Trump’s Commerce Department to reverse course on the retaliatory measures designed to protect Boeing. […]

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Saudi Arabia frees top broadcaster held in anti-graft drive

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – Saudi Arabia on Friday released the owner of the influential Arab satellite network MBC nearly three months after his arrest in an anti-corruption drive targeting the kingdom’s elite, sources told AFP. Waleed al-Ibrahim was among some 350 suspects rounded up since November 4, including billionaire princes and ministers who were detained in Riyadh’s luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel. Ibrahim held a family gathering at his residence after his release, three MBC employees told AFP […]

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