WORLD

Rome, Italy | AFP | US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that doing nothing with foreign fighters captured in Syria “was not an option” after a meeting of the US-led anti-Islamic State group coalition in Rome. During the fierce offensive to oust the IS group from its former stronghold Raqa, …

Paris, France | AFP | People who wolf down their food could lose weight simply by chewing longer and pausing between bites, study results suggested Tuesday. Research involving nearly 60,000 Japanese people showed a link between eating slower or faster, and losing or gaining weight. “Changes in eating speed can affect …

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 — …

  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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …