Category: World

The White House has denied an assertion by North Korea’s foreign minister that the United States declared war on it, calling the claim “absurd.” …

Envoys of the Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region have opened up a new representative office in the southern French city of Marseille. …

As lawmakers propose banning the sale of shark fins in the U.S., a pair of scientists is pushing back, saying the effort might actually harm attempts to conserve the marine predators. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced a bill this year designed to prevent people from possessing or selling shark fins in America, …

Read more “Shark Fin Bans Might Not Help Sharks, Scientists Say”

Our Lady of Angels Church has survived several major earthquakes, but Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 shake proved to be the final death knell for the Mexico City building’s historic cupola.   Violent cracks crisscrossed the dome, and stone from the roof continued to fall onto the church’s wooden pews. On Sunday evening, the cupola split and …

Read more “Mexico Quake Leaves Country’s Historic Churches Battered”

In his dark suit, Thai junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha cut an incongruous figure guiding a rice tractor across a muddy paddy field in front of cameras and watching villagers. The prime minister’s latest photo opportunity won applause from farmers watching in straw hats and his visit to Suphan Buri on Monday brought a call from …

Read more “Thai Junta Leader, Backers Fuel Suspicions of Plans to Stay in Power”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes the United States would not strike North Korea because it knows Pyongyang possesses nuclear weapons. …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance won a fourth term in power, election exit polls suggest, but will face a more volatile parliament after the far-right made historic gains. …

President Donald Trump has issued new restrictions on people trying to enter the United States from eight nations, including Iran, to replace his expiring travel ban. …

Thousands of Catalan separatists are rallying in public squares in Barcelona and other towns in support of a disputed referendum on independence of the northeastern region from Spain. Many are carrying pro-independence flags and signs calling for the Oct. 1 independence vote that the Spanish government calls illegal and has pledged to stop. The crowds …

Read more “Thousands Rally Across Catalonia for Independence from Spain”

U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to insults from North Korea’s foreign minister with more threats. “Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at U.N. If he echoes thoughts of Little Rocket Man, they won’t be around much longer!” Trump said on Twitter. North Korea’s foreign minister brought a dictionary full of insults for …

Read more “Trump Issues More Threats Against N. Korea”

Turkey’s top diplomat has visited two Turks imprisoned in the United States for their alleged involvement in an infamous brawl that has raised tensions between the two countries. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted that he visited Sinan Narin and Eyup Yildirim late Saturday and said he passed on “our nation’s love and greetings.” The men …

Read more “Turkish FM Visits 2 Turks Jailed in US for May Brawl”

Iranian military forces on September 24 launched military exercises in an area near the border with Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region, a day before a controversial independence referendum in the northern Iraq region. …

Afghan security officials say at least three civilians were wounded on September 24 when a suicide car bomber attacked a Danish military convoy from the NATO-led international mission in Kabul. …

Pakistan and India are trading accusations of state-sponsored terrorism against each other at the UN General Assembly in New York. …

The leader of a Russian extremist group detained as a suspect in a high-profile arson attack, has been placed under arrest for one month, Russian news agencies reported on September 23. …

Some 200 people attended an LGBT pride parade in Montenegro on September 23 calling for more rights and tougher punishment for violent acts against gay people in the small Balkan nation. …

Hundreds of opposition activists attended an anticorruption protest in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on September 23. The protest, which was sanctioned by the city government, was organized by the National Council of Democratic Forces — an umbrella organization grouping some of Azerbaijan’s opposition forces. At least three members of the Popular Front Party were reportedly detained …

Read more “Opposition Holds Anticorruption Rally In Baku”

Authorities in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland said on Saturday they have seized a boat loaded with weapons, officials told VOA. “We have captured the boat, named Al Faruq, loaded with different weapons, including anti-aircraft machineguns, AK47 rifles, pistols and ammunition,” said Mohamed Mohamud Hassan, the acting regional maritime police chief. Hassan said Puntland police …

Read more “Authorities in Somalia’s Puntland Region Tout Capture of Weapons-laden Boat”

A powerful earthquake rocked Mexico on Saturday, triggering new alarms in a country struggling to recover from two recent quakes that killed a total of nearly 400 people. The U.S. Geological Survey said the new quake had a magnitude of 6.1 and was centered in the southern state of Oaxaca, about 360 kilometers (225 miles) …

Read more “New Earthquake, Third This Month, Hits Mexico”

A strong new earthquake shook Mexico on Saturday, causing new alarm in a country reeling from two yet-more-powerful quakes this month that have killed nearly 400 people. The U.S. Geological Survey said the new, magnitude 6.1 temblor was centered about 11 miles (18 kilometers) south-southeast of Matias Romero in the state of Oaxaca, which was …

Read more “New 6.1-magnitude Earthquake Shakes Jittery Mexico”

The United States sees value in the New START arms control treaty with Russia, despite Washington’s concerns about Moscow’s track record on arms control and other issues, senior U.S. officials said Friday. The remarks by the Trump administration officials, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, suggest the treaty will remain in force and the …

Read more “US Looks to Keep Arms Control Treaty With Russia”

Mexican authorities have raised the death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake to 293, as rescue workers continue to search through the rubble, refusing to give up hope of finding survivors. National Civil Protection Chief Luis Felipe Puente said more than half the fatalities — 155 people — died in the capital, Mexico City. In a tweet …

Read more “Rescuers Cling to Hope of Finding Quake Survivors in Mexico”

Canada announced Friday that it was imposing sanctions on key figures in the regime of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement that the measure was meant to be a clear message that anti-democratic behavior has consequences. The behavior in question is Maduro’s appointment last month of an assembly …

Read more “Canada Imposes Sanctions on Venezuelan Officials”

A fishing boat carrying migrants sank on September 22 off Turkey’s Black Sea coast, killing at least 21 people and leaving up to five others missing, the Turkish coastguard said. …