WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States regards the exodus of Middle Eastern refugees to Europe as a “global challenge,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, reassuring his German counterpart of US support. “It is not somebody else’s problem. It is a test for all of us,” Kerry declared, at a Washington news conference with Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “The United States considers the refugee crisis to be global. The impact first was […]
International
Greek creditors to resume reforms audit by March 10: PM
ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Tuesday that an EU-IMF audit of the debt-laden country’s reforms would likely resume by March 10, hinting that the process was being delayed by divisions among the creditors. “My estimate is that (senior creditor representatives will) return in the first ten days of March,” Tsipras said in a televised interview. “There must finally be agreement between the (creditors) so we can move forward,” he told Star TV. […]
North Carolina police officer kills suspect, sparks protest
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES(Reuters) — A Raleigh, North Carolina, police officer on Monday (February 29) killed a man who was fleeing arrest, authorities said, and a local TV station reported that protesters chanting “black lives matter” gathered at the scene. Raleigh police did not give the race of either the officer or the dead man. However, a black woman who identified herself as the victim’s mother told local television the officer was white and […]
Indonesia beefs up security ahead of international summit
JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) — About a thousand Indonesian military and police personnel gathered at the capital’s National Monument on Tuesday (March 1) for a security drill ahead of the 5th OIC (Organisation Of Islamic Cooperation) Extraordinary Summit which will be attended by leaders of 57 Islamic countries. Indonesian army commander, Gatot Nurmantyo, oversaw the drill and said around 10,150 security personnel will be ready for the event. “Do not tolerate and compromise on any suspicious […]
South Korean president says door not shut on dialog with the North
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — Seoul will not shut the door to dialogue with North Korea, South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Tuesday (March 1), but warned that Pyongyang, facing new U.N. sanctions, would be subject to even greater pressure as long as it stuck to its nuclear programme. The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote soon on a resolution drafted by the United States and backed by China, the North’s main ally, […]
North Korea must ‘pay price’ for latest nuclear test–South Korea’s Park
Seoul, South Korea (AFP)—North Korea must pay the price for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye said Tuesday, vowing to pressure Pyongyang into accepting denuclearization as its only viable option for survival. In a televised speech to mark the anniversary of the 1919 independence movement against Japanese rule over the Korean peninsula, Park said failure to respond to the North’s “reckless provocations” would only result in further nuclear […]
Extremists may launch more attacks in Iraqi cities in retaliation for military defeats: expert
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) — Major Iraqi cities are likely to witness a surge in terror attacks as extremist groups retaliate to continued defeats on the frontline, an Iraqi security expert said on Monday. The recent escalation of suicide attacks has killed nearly 100 people in Baghdad and Muqdadiyah. Experts say the attacks show that extremist groups are being pushed from the battlefield to urban areas as Iraqi security forces retake lands from their hands. “The […]
European refugee crisis a ‘global’ challenge: Kerry
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States regards the exodus of Middle Eastern refugees to Europe as a “global challenge,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, reassuring his German counterpart of US support. “It is not somebody else’s problem. It is a test for all of us,” Kerry declared, at a Washington news conference with Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “The United States considers the refugee crisis to be global. The impact first […]
Four charged with selling stolen satellite tech to China
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP)–Canadian federal police on Monday charged an American, a Briton and two Canadians with stealing sensitive satellite imaging technology and selling it to China in violation of export laws. Two of them stole the sensor from their employer Teledyne Dalsa of Waterloo, Ontario with help from a former employee, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They then sold it to two Chinese firms, one of them state-owned, in violation of the Canadian […]
Church ‘mucked up’ with pedophile priests: Vatican finance chief
by Martin Parry SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell admitted Monday the Catholic Church “mucked up” in dealing with paedophile priests and vowed he would not “defend the indefensible” before an Australian inquiry. Pell gave evidence from a hotel in Rome via video-link to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney rather than appear in person as he has a heart condition. The inquiry is currently […]
Clinton wins South Carolina Democratic primary: US networks
Columbia, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton has won South Carolina’s Democratic presidential primary by a wide margin, US networks projected, handing her a welcome victory over Bernie Sanders before the high-stakes “Super Tuesday” contest. “To South Carolina, to the volunteers at the heart of our campaign, to the supporters who power it: thank you,” Clinton tweeted as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all called the vote in her favor at the close of polls on […]
Global charity tracks boats carrying Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar
SAMUTPRAKAN, Thailand (Reuters) — Global charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) on Friday (February 26) launched a mission in the Andaman Sea to track and rescue migrant boats in distress in the Southeast Asia region. The migrant boats contain a mix of people from Bangladesh seeking to escape poverty at home as well as Rohingyas, Indonesian and Malay authorities have said. Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions […]
