WORLD

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin has reassured his US counterpart Donald Trump that Moscow remains “open to dialogue” despite the year ending without the hoped-for warming of relations, the Kremlin said on Sunday. “Russian-US relations remain an important factor in order to guarantee strategic stability and …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil will definitely move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, with only the date of the transfer to be decided, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday during a visit to Rio de Janeiro. “It’s not a question of ‘if’ but of ‘when’,” …

Washington, United States | AFP | Outgoing White House chief John Kelly said in an interview published Sunday that he had “nothing but compassion” for undocumented migrants crossing into the US, and undercut President Donald Trump’s claims to be building a “wall” at the Mexico border. As a partial government …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil is about to experience its moment of truth with its new president, Jair Bolsonaro, who takes power on Tuesday as an untested leader vowing a crackdown on crime and corruption and ideological opposition to the left. The 63-year-old former paratrooper, long an …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to meet the South’s President Moon Jae-in “frequently” next year to discuss denuclearisation of the peninsula in a rare letter sent to Seoul, Moon’s office said Sunday. The leader of the isolated North met with Moon three …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte drew outrage Sunday after saying he “touched” his maid when he was a teenager, with women’s rights groups accusing him of attempted rape and encouraging sexual abuse. Duterte frequently sparks uproar with his comments on women, including rape jokes and boasting …

Washington, United States | AFP | Both the US and China spoke of progress Saturday after telephone talks between their leaders over a trade war that has rattled global markets. “Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China,” US President Donald Trump said on Twitter …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Saturday blamed opposition Democrats for the death of two immigrant children in US custody, comments set to heighten tensions as the second week of a government shutdown began over his demands for a border wall. “Any deaths of children …

Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs will receive criminal punishments and jail terms from next year, as China cracks down on doping ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, state media reported. China’s sports administration and top judicial authority are drafting rules that would apply …

Colombo, Sri Lanka | AFP | Some 278 skeletons have been found at one of the biggest mass graves uncovered in Sri Lanka since the end of the country’s civil war almost a decade ago, a top investigator said Friday. Dozens of women and children as well as men were …