WORLD

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The British government sought Thursday to play down an extraordinary row with US President Donald Trump after he castigated Prime Minister Theresa May for rebuking him over anti-Muslim tweets, even as individual politicians expressed outrage. Plunging headlong into a high-profile spat with one of America’s …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States warned North Korea’s leadership will be “utterly destroyed” if war breaks out but its call for nations to cut ties with Pyongyang was rejected by Moscow while Beijing sidestepped talk of an oil embargo. Washington urged tough action at an emergency …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | Dutch prosecutors are investigating how a Bosnian Croat war criminal managed to dramatically take his own life Wednesday, apparently after drinking poison he had smuggled into a UN court, in scenes that were broadcast live. In shocking footage beamed around the world, Slobodan Praljak drank …

Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Pope Francis on Thursday wraps up a visit to Myanmar defined by his decision not to address the Rohingya crisis in public, and flies to Bangladesh, where huge numbers of refugees from the Muslim minority languish in refugee camps. Christians make up less than 0.5 percent …

Beijing, China | AFP | Nearly 12 tonnes of smuggled pangolin scales have been confiscated by Chinese officials — the country’s largest-ever seizure of the endangered mammal’s prized parts as it seeks to curb illegal trafficking. The pangolin, whose brown scales have earned it the nickname “scaly anteater”, is the most …

Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Human Rights Watch on Wednesday condemned a series of summary executions of dozens of people in areas of eastern Libya under the control of controversial strongman Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The New York-based watchdog called on Haftar’s Libyan National Army to make good on a …

Washington, United States | AFP | The US military remains confident it can — at least for the moment — protect against any North Korean missile threat, a US official said Wednesday after Pyongyang tested a new rocket type. North Korea earlier launched a previously unseen intercontinental ballistic missile, which …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said his country had achieved full nuclear statehood on Wednesday after a groundbreaking missile test, in a challenge to US President Donald Trump who responded with promises of “major sanctions”. Pyongyang on Wednesday tested its third intercontinental ballistic missile …

Paris, France | AFP | Pop legend Michael Jackson’s “huge impact” on contemporary art will be explored in a new exhibition in Paris and London next year. The “groundbreaking” show claims it will tell the “untold story” of how the king of pop became “one of the most influential figures …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Scientific testing at what is believed to be Jesus’s tomb dates material there to the fourth century, supporting traditional beliefs surrounding the site, an expert involved in the study said Tuesday. The study offers no further evidence whether or not Jesus was actually buried at …