WORLD

Hong Kong, China | AFP |China’s President Xi Jinping will want for nothing during his three-day visit to Hong Kong after taking over two entire luxury hotels with more than 1,300 rooms between them. The glitzy harbourfront Grand Hyatt and Renaissance, in the business and commercial district of Wan Chai, …

Rosario, Argentina | AFP | Football and showbiz stars gathered in Argentina for Latin America’s celebrity wedding bash of the decade as Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo on Friday. Pop star Shakira and her husband, Messi’s teammate Gerard Pique, were expected among the …

Indian minister mocked for urinating in public New Delhi, India | AFP |  A government minister was mocked on social media for urinating in public despite the prime minister’s flagship public hygiene drive as pictures of the embarrassing incident were splashed over front pages Friday. The Times of India said …

Yogyakarta, Indonesia | AFP | Barack Obama took his wife and daughters to the ancient Borobudur temple on Java on Wednesday on a family vacation to Indonesia, where the former US president spent part of his childhood. The Obamas arrived in the city of Yogyakarta in central Java and headed …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Wednesday created five new cardinals in a Vatican ceremony that, while deeply traditional in form, also reflected his vision of a reshaped Church for the 21st century. Four of the five new cardinals come from countries that have never had …

Sydney, Australia | AFP | Cardinal George Pell, one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican and Australia’s most senior Catholic, was Thursday charged with historical child sex offences, which he “strenuously denied”. Pell, the Vatican’s finance chief and the highest-ranking Catholic cleric to face such charges, had been …

Hong Kong, China | AFP |  President Xi Jinping arrives in Hong Kong on Thursday to mark 20 years since it was handed back to China by Britain, a trip that has already riled democracy activists in the politically divided city. The three-day visit is his first since becoming leader …

Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Venezuela’s army has been put on alert after four grenades were hurled at the Supreme Court from a helicopter, President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday, in a potentially dramatic escalation of the violence gripping the oil-rich South American country. The helicopter assault comes a day after …

  Washington, United States | AFP |  Top Gulf diplomats were in Washington Tuesday as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to help resolve the stubborn Qatar crisis, amid concerns that Saudi Arabia’s unyielding stance could foil the effort. With a one-week Saudi deadline looming for Qatar to meet …

Washington, United States | AFP |  US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraced each other as friends and partners Monday, pledging their quest for economic growth would strengthen rather than undermine ties between the world’s two largest democracies. While Trump’s relations with some traditional allies had …