International
Featured video: Final preparations ahead of Trump inauguration (360 video)
Royal Navy disposes of suspected WWII bomb in London
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Royal Navy has disposed of a suspected World War II bomb discovered in London’s River Thames close to parliament, leading to the closure of two bridges, police said Friday. “Victoria Embankment has now reopened after police and the Royal Navy worked together to remove a suspected WWII ordnance,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Police were called at 5.15pm (1715 GMT) on Thursday to reports of a suspected […]
Ivanka Trump asks US to give her dad a chance
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Give Donald Trump a chance, incoming first daughter Ivanka is asking fellow Americans as her father readies to be sworn in as president of a sharply divided country on Friday. Yet in an interview with ABC News, aired on the eve of the inauguration, the businesswoman and mother of three also admitted to urging her father to cut out some of his more controversial tweets. “My father is an […]
Islamic State destroys famous monument in Syria’s Palmyra – antiquities chief
PALMYRA, Syria (Reuters) — Islamic State militants have destroyed one of the most famous monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra, the Tetrapylon, and the facade of its Roman Theater, Syrian antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters on Friday (January 20). The Syrian government lost control of Palmyra to Islamic State in December, the second time the jihadist group had overrun the UNESCO world heritage site in the six-year-long Syrian conflict. The Tetrapylon, marking a […]
Build bridges not walls, protesters tell Trump in London
LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) — A banner reading “Build bridges not walls” was draped across London’s Tower Bridge on Friday (January 20) as part of a series of events across the world aimed at expressing displeasure at the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Protesters on the iconic bridge held up pink letters reading “Act now!” soon after sunrise while others unfurled the banner over the railings and a speedboat with a black flag […]
Search and rescue work continues at Italy avalanche hotel
PENNE, Italy (Reuters) — Rescue workers at a base camp in Penne, some 10 km (6 miles) away from a mountain hotel buried by an avalanche, prepared to continue their search efforts on Friday (January 20) morning. Rescuers dug all night in deep snow and debris looking for some 30 missing people who were staying in the luxury hotel in central Italy when an avalanche struck almost two days ago. Officials have confirmed finding two […]
El Chapo arrives at Manhattan Correctional Center
NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — Mexican cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was brought to a jail in Manhattan late Thursday night (January 19) shortly after landing on U.S. soil. The druglord is expected to appear in a court in New York on Friday (January 20), after his surprise extradition from Mexico ended a decades-long career in drug-trafficking, dare-devil jail breaks and murder. A Justice Department spokesman said El Chapo, or Shorty, once one […]
Japan to conduct simulated drills for China-Taiwan clash: report
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will carry out a tabletop exercise next week to simulate its response in the event of a military clash between China and Taiwan, Japanese media said. The Self-Defence Forces will conduct drills from Monday through Friday with the US military participating as an observer, a Japanese government source told Kyodo News. The exercises, which do not involve actual troop deployments, assume that the US and Japan are responding to a military […]
Pence describes trip to DC aboard Air Force Two with two cats and bunny rabbit in tow
WASHINGTON, United States (Reuters) — On the eve of the inauguration, Vice President-elect Mike Pence celebrated victory at an Indiana inaugural ball hosted by the Indiana Society of Washington. Pence spoke about his trip to Washington aboard Air Force Two. “Vice President Biden and his wife Jill have been so gracious to us in this transition he actually sent Air Force Two out to Indiana to pick us up,” he said. “You might have heard […]
Japan criticizes the Pyeongchang Olympics’ website for mentioning disputed islands
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday (January 20) objected to mention on the Pyeongchang Olympics website of islands disputed by his country and South Korea, saying it was “unacceptable” and went against the spirit of the international competition. He added that Japan had conveyed its views on the matter to the South Korean government and called on them to make an appropriate response. Ties between Japan and South Korea, host […]
French Socialists say left can unite during final debate before presidential primary
SAINT-CLOUD, France (Reuters) — Candidates fighting for the Socialist party nomination for French president said during a televised debate on Thursday (January 19) before presidential primaries at the weekend that the left could unite despite being squeezed by competition on all sides. The French left will start to pick which of the seven eligible candidates will represent it at presidential elections in the spring during a two-round contest which begins on Sunday (January 22). But […]
