MOSCOW (AP) -- The Russian parliament on Friday adopted a set of controversial counter-terrorism amendments which have sparked alarm among rights activists.The amendments that the Duma voted on Friday include introducing prison sentences for failure to report a grave crime and doubling the number of crimes that Russians as young as 14 years old can be prosecuted. Another forces telecommunications companies to store logs and data for months, a measure which threatens to eat almost all of the comp

World June 24, 2016

BEIJING (AFP) -- Britain's decision to quit the world's largest single market presents China with a golden opportunity to seek better business terms with a more isolated UK, analysts said Friday, pointing out that London has not had its own trade negotiators for 40 years."Now that the referendum has happened, I would imagine that China will be quick to seize the opportunities," Guy de Jonquieres, senior fellow at the European Centre for International Political Economy, told AFP.If a departing Br

June 24, 2016

BEIJING (AFP) -- Chinese officials have restricted civil servants, students and children in a mainly Muslim region from fasting during Ramadan, government websites said as the holy month began on Monday.The country's ruling Communist party is officially atheist and for years has banned government employees and minors from fasting in Xinjiang, home to the more than 10 million-strong mostly Muslim Uighur minority.It has also ordered some restaurants to stay open.The region sees regular clashes bet

World June 6, 2016

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) -- Donald Trump says he made "a lot of money" in a deal years ago with Moammar Gadhafi, despite suggesting at the time he had no idea the former Libyan dictator was involved in renting his suburban New York estate."Don't forget, I’m the only one. I made a lot of money with Gadhafi, if you remember," Trump said in an interview with CBS’ "Face the Nation" that aired Sunday. "He came to the country, and he had to make a deal with me because he needed a place to stay.""He paid

World June 6, 2016

North Korea's state-run media accused the South Korean Navy of violating its sea border Monday amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The Korean Central News Agency monitored in Seoul said warships from the South violated its waters in the Yellow Sea around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. It claimed that South Korea pushed 19 fishing boats into waters Pyongyang claims at its own.The news wire said that the move was aimed at triggering a response from the North that could be used by Seoul to blame

National June 6, 2016

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A U.S. newspaper has published a mockup of what a frontpage might look like should Republican frontrunner Donald  Trump win the presidency, as it condemned his "deeply disturbing" and "profoundly un-American" vision."Deportations to begin, President Trump calls for tripling of ICE (immigration and customs enforcement); riots continue," read The Boston Globe's fake headline, dated April 10, 2017.It was posted on the editorial page, accompanied by a ruthless editorial article s

World April 10, 2016

TEHRAN (AP) -- Iran's foreign minister said Sunday the country's missile program is not up for negotiation with the United States.The missile program and "defense capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran are not negotiable,'' said Mohammad Javad Zarif after meeting with his Estonian counterpart, Marina Kaljurand.He added that if Washington was serious about defensive issues in the Middle East, it should stop supplying arms to Saudi Arabia and Israel.A Saudi-led coalition has been conducting

World April 10, 2016

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AFP) -- G7 foreign ministers on Sunday began two days of talks in Hiroshima, with John Kerry's visit to the atom-bombed city -- the first-ever by a U.S. secretary of state -- overshadowing the broader agenda.Kerry's landmark trip is seen as possibly paving the way for Barack Obama to become the first serving U.S. president to visit the thriving metropolis next month, when he comes to Japan for the Group of Seven summit.The meeting which started Sunday also includes top diplomat

World April 10, 2016