WORLD

United Nations, United States | AFP | Long-serving American diplomat Rosemary DiCarlo was on Wednesday appointed to become the first woman to head UN political affairs, one of the most high-profile positions at the world body. DiCarlo will replace Jeffrey Feltman, another American who held the post of under-secretary-general for …

Kemerovo, Russia | AFP | Russia on Wednesday held a national day of mourning and buried the first victims of a fire that ravaged a busy shopping centre and killed 64 people, most of them children. Flags were lowered and entertainment events cancelled three days after Sunday’s devastating blaze in …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump, who has agreed to meet with Kim Jong Un, said Wednesday there is a now a good chance the North Korean leader will give up his country’s nuclear weapons. “For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and …

New Delhi, India | AFP | An Indian billionaire who promised to help fund a rival to Facebook said Wednesday he had been “overwhelmed” with the response as the world grapples with concerns about data privacy. Anand Mahindra, whose Mahindra Group business empire spans everything from cars to real estate, …

Beijing, China | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was treated to a lavish welcome by Chinese President Xi Jinping during a secretive trip to Beijing as both sides seek to repair frayed ties ahead of landmark summits with Seoul and Washington. On his first trip abroad since …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged from hospital in Jerusalem on Tuesday after being admitted with a case of “high fever”, his office said. The 68-year-old premier, who underwent tests in the Hadassah hospital, was also suffering from a “cough”, the office said in a …

Washington, United States | AFP | Linda Brown, who was at the center of the landmark 1950s court battle leading to the desegregation of US public schools, died on Monday at age 75. The US Supreme Court ruling on the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 was a …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The European Union has given Facebook two weeks to answer questions raised by the scandal over personal data harvested from the social network, according to extracts of a letter obtained by AFP on Tuesday. The letter EU’s justice commissioner Vera Jourova sent Facebook’s chief operating officer …

Paris, France | AFP | Some 300 million people worldwide are living with the deadly hepatitis B virus (HBV), but only one in 20 received adequate treatment, researchers reported Tuesday. For expectant mothers carrying the virus — which can be transmitted to their children — that percentage drops to one …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The White House hit back at porn star Stormy Daniels on Monday, insisting there was “nothing to collaborate” her claims of extramarital sex with Donald Trump. In its first response to a primetime interview watched by more than 21 million Americans, the White House …