International

Anis Amri: Tunisian suspect in Berlin truck attack

by Frank ZELLER with Kaouther LARBI in Tunisia Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — The Tunisian suspect in the Berlin truck attack, 24-year-old Anis Amri, was long watched as a potentially dangerous jihadist but managed to avoid both arrest and deportation from Germany. Two days after the Holiday  market rampage killed 12 people, Amri was named in European arrest warrants that offered a 100,000-euro ($104,000) reward for information and warned he could be “violent […]

Berlin truck attack: the investigation so far

by Antoine LAMBROSCHINI Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – A Polish-registered truck, a kidnapped driver, a falsely-accused Pakistani and a manhunt for a Tunisian suspect: here is what we know about the investigation into the truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market that left 12 people dead. The Polish driver  On Monday the truck’s driver, a 37-year-old Pole named Lukasz, headed to Berlin to deliver a load of 24 tonnes of steel beams from Italy. […]

Robot gives rare glimpse under Antarctic sea ice

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — An underwater robot has captured a rare glimpse beneath the Antarctic sea ice, revealing a colourful world filled with coconut-shaped sponges, dandelion-like worms, pink algae and spidery starfish. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) took footage on a camera attached to a Remotely Operated Vehicle sent down by scientists through a small hole drilled in the ice as they recorded the acidity, oxygen, salinity and temperature of the seawater. “When you think […]

North Korean leader watches military drills

Reuters — North Korea’s state-run television KRT on Wednesday (December 21) released still photographs of its leader Kim Jong Un watching a multiple rocket launcher drill and a night time combat flight drill. KRT said Kim ordered soldiers to conduct training under the simulated conditions of an actual war. KRT did not specify a date or a location of the drills. North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to Britain said on Monday (December 19) he defected […]

At least 29 dead, 70 hurt in Mexico fireworks market blast

by Sofia Miselem/ Jennifer Gonzalez Covarrubias Agence France Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A massive explosion gutted Mexico’s biggest fireworks market Tuesday, killing at least 29 people and injuring 70, authorities said. The conflagration, in the Mexico City suburb of Tultepec, set off a quick-fire series of multicolored blasts and a sent a vast cloud of smoke billowing over the capital city. The market had been packed with customers buying pyrotechnics for traditional end-of-year […]

Venezuela reopens Colombia, Brazil border crossings

by Sonia Vivas, with Esteban Rojas in Caracas Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Thousands of Venezuelans crossed into Colombia on Tuesday to buy food and medicine after their government partially reopened the border following a messy crackdown on what it called currency hoarders. The border with Brazil was also partially reopened, officials in Brasilia said. “Thank God the border is open again,” one 29-year-old, Christian Sanchez, told AFP. “A lot of people have […]

6.5-magnitude earthquake rattles northern Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake rattled northern Australia and parts of Indonesia Wednesday with residents in Darwin reporting widespread shaking, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The tremor struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia, US seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued. “TV nearly rattled off the cabinet, two storey house was swaying around,” said Rosie McCurrach on broadcaster ABC’s Darwin Facebook page. Another poster said: “Mitchell Center […]

At least 26 dead in Mexico fireworks market blast: official

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A massive explosion that gutted Mexico’s biggest fireworks market on Tuesday left at least 26 dead, an official said. “We recovered 26 bodies at the scene of the incident” in the Mexico City suburb of Tultepec, Mexico state prosecutor Alejandro Gomez told reporters at the site. The conflagration, in the suburb of Tultepec, set off a quickfire series of multicolored blasts and a vast cloud of smoke that hung over […]

Nine killed, 70 hurt in Mexico fireworks market blast

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — A massive explosion gutted Mexico’s biggest fireworks market Tuesday, killing at least nine people and injuring 70, police said. The conflagration, in the suburb of Tultepec, set off a quickfire series of multicolored blasts and a vast cloud of smoke that hung over Mexico City. The market was packed at the time with customers buying pyrotechnics for traditional end-of-year festivities. Christmas and New Year’s parties in many Latin American countries […]

No perfect shield against truck attacks, experts warn

by Michel Moutot Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Even the best-laid security  plans cannot protect an open-air event against the lethal potency of a truck attack like those carried out in Berlin and Nice, experts say. The sheer scope of places, demonstrations and public gatherings needing protection is such that the risk of someone using a moving vehicle as a weapon of terror — as called for by the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda […]

Plane with body of slain Russian envoy lands in Moscow

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A Russian plane carrying the body of the ambassador assassinated in Turkey landed on Tuesday in Moscow, met by the top Russian and Turkish diplomats. Andrei Karlov’s coffin and his widow traveled back to Russia after the veteran diplomat was shot dead by a 22-year-old Turkish policeman at an art exhibit in Ankara on Monday in what Moscow called an “act of terror”. TV footage from the Vnukovo airport showed Karlov’s […]

Slovak president vetoes ‘discriminatory’ religion law

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AFP) — Slovak President Andrej Kiska on Tuesday vetoed a law he called “discriminatory”, which would have made it even harder for Muslims and other religious minorities in the EU member to receive state subsidies. “This law infringes fundamental rights,” Kiska said in a statement, a couple of weeks after Slovak lawmakers adopted the legislation tabled by the right-wing Slovak National Party (SNS), a governing coalition member. The bill would have required a […]