Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised the welcome the South gave his sister and said it was important to build on the Olympics-driven momentum for dialogue on the divided peninsula. Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong — one of his closest confidantes — …
Read More »Water: Why the taps run dry
Paris, France | AFP | The world has abundant freshwater but it is unevenly distributed and under increasing pressure, UN agencies say, as highlighted by the severe shortages in Cape Town. – Water, water ‘everywhere’ – More than 97 percent of the planet’s water is salty, most of it in …
Read More »Pope condemns media denigration of migrants
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Monday criticised media which “denigrates” migrants through emotive or incomplete reporting on their situation. “Some months ago I saw a newspaper headline about a small town in Italy which read, ‘this is the town where there were the most rapes this …
Read More »Netanyahu says discussed annexing settlements with US; White House denies
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he has discussed legislation with the United States that would annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, but the White House denied it in a rare show of disunity. Netanyahu later issued a clarification somewhat backing away from the …
Read More »Trump budget includes infrastructure plan, steep social cuts, rising deficits
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled an ambitious proposal to renew American infrastructure as part of a budget that calls for a stunning rise in debt and trillions in cuts to social and other spending. The blueprint for the 2019 fiscal year abandons the long-held …
Read More »Sea level rise is accelerating: study
Miami, United States | AFP | Sea level rise is accelerating and could reach 26 inches (66 centimeters) by century’s end, in line with United Nations estimates and enough to cause significant problems for coastal cities, a study said Monday. The past annual rate of sea level rise — about three …
Read More »Obamas reveal unconventional portraits in Washington
Washington, United States | AFP | Former US first couple Barack and Michelle Obama unveiled their portraits at Washington’s National Gallery Monday, two contrasting works by African American artists that shocked and delighted. The paintings by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, were revealed …
Read More »Tillerson says ‘too early’ for direct talks with N. Korea
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday it was “too early” to discuss direct negotiations with North Korea, after Vice President Mike Pence said the US was open to talks. Pence was quoted in the Washington Post on Sunday as saying the US and …
Read More »100 years ago today, jazz broke loose in Europe
Nantes, France | AFP | A hundred years ago in World War One, a group of American soldiers stormed Europe — not to the boom of guns, but the swinging rhythm of saxophones, drums and horns. They came to fight in the mud against the Germans in a war approaching …
Read More »Iraq seeks $88.2 bln for reconstruction: minister
Kuwait City, Kuwait | AFP | Iraq needs $88.2 billion to rebuild after years of war against the Islamic State group, Planning Minister Salman al-Jumaili said Monday, as an international conference on the country’s reconstruction opened in Kuwait. Iraq hopes to raise billions of dollars in pledges at the three-day …
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