Top World News
Rubio: Odds high Trump will meet with Chinese president
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting with a senior Chinese official in Malaysia Friday that a summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely later this year.
Jitters increase about future of South Korea-U.S. alliance
Foreign relations experts are worrying that the leaders of Seoul and Washington could do what no enemy has managed in 75 years: Fray the two democracies' alliance to the breaking point.
Rubio in bind as he seeks to reassure south-east Asia, even as it faces Trump tariffs
Rubio meets Chinese counterpart at gathering, as questions remain about US trade polices and commitment to regionEven as they face among the most punitive tariffs globally, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has sought to reassure south-east Asian countries of Washington’s commitment to the region, saying they may get “better” trade deals than the rest of the world.In his first official visit to Asia, Rubio met the foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Malaysia on Thursday, telling his counterparts that the US had “no intention of abandoning” the region. His visit came days after Donald Trump renewed his threat to impose severe tariffson many south-east Asian countries if they did not strike deals by 1 August. Continue reading...
Bangladesh caretaker government overturns use of ‘sir’ to address female officials
Protocol was ‘clearly odd’ relic of regime of ousted leader Sheikh Hasina, administration says in revision of directivesBangladesh’s caretaker government has overturned a longstanding protocol requiring female officials to be addressed as “sir”, calling it an “odd” relic of the regime of the ousted leader, Sheikh Hasina.The interim administration, headed by the Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus, took office last year after the former prime minister was overthrown by a student-led uprising, forcing her to flee to neighbouring India. Continue reading...
US border czar says he doesn’t know fate of eight men deported to South Sudan
Men from Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar were removed from the US and flown to the war-torn countryTom Homan, the US border czar, has said he does not know what happened to the eight men deported to South Sudan after the Trump administration resumed sending migrants to countries that are not their place of origin, known as third countries.“They’re free as far as we’re concerned. They’re free, they’re no longer in our custody, they’re in Sudan,” Homan told Politico on Friday. “Will they stay in Sudan? I don’t know.” Continue reading...
Photos of funeral of Kenyan civilian shot dead by police during protest
The burial of a Kenyan civilian who was shot at close range by a police officer during an anti-government demonstration in June has taken place at his parents’ farm in Kangema. Boniface Kariuki was selling face masks at an anti-police demonstration on June 17 when he was shot in the head during a confrontation with two officers. On Thursday, an officer was charged with his murder. Human rights groups have called for restraint among police officers following violence at similar protests captured by photographers on June 25 and July 7. __ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Colombia identifies new threat in drug war: the autonomous narco drone sub
Country’s navy announced seizure of uncrewed narco sub, first capture of such a vessel in Colombian watersThe bust was unusual – a narco submarine capable of carrying more than 1.5 tons of cocaine. There were no drugs onboard this time, but most notably, there were no traffickers.Last week, the Colombian navy announced that it had seized an “autonomous semisubmersible”, the first seizure of such a vessel in the country’s waters. Continue reading...
At least 4 presumed dead, 11 missing after Houthi rebels sink ship in Red Sea, EU naval mission says
Four people are presumed dead and 11 others are still missing after a Liberian-flagged cargo ship sank in the Red Sea following an attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels, a European Union naval mission said Friday.
U.N.'s food agency limits aid operations in West and Central Africa due to funding cuts
The World Food Program said Friday it is suspending food and nutritional assistance across crisis-hit West and Central African countries as a result of U.S. and other global aid cuts that are grinding its operations to a halt.
Russia closes Polish consulate in Kaliningrad in tit-for-tat diplomatic row
Moscow has ordered the closure of Poland’s Consulate in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in a tit-for-tat move as relations between the countries remain strained over a Warsaw fire that Poland alleges was Russian sabotage
Key dates in PKK Kurdish militant group's decades-long armed struggle against Turkey
Fighters with the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, began laying down their weapons on Friday in a symbolic ceremony marking a first step toward a promised disarmament.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi says Iran threatens her life after its war with Israel
The Norwegian Nobel Committee warns that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi faces threats to her life from Iranian security services
