PARIS (AFP) -- French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday threatened to ban demonstrations, the day after violent protests in Paris over labour reforms that the government vowed to push through regardless."At a time when France is hosting the Euro (football tournament), when it is faced with terrorism, demonstrations can no longer be authorised if property and people and public property cannot be safeguarded," Hollande's spokesman Stephane Le Foll told a cabinet meeting.Earlier, a defiant P

World News June 15, 2016

PARIS (AFP) -- Drinking very hot coffee and other drinks "probably" causes cancer of the oesophagus, a UN agency said Wednesday, but lifted suspicion from a cup of joe at "normal serving temperatures".For some types of cancer, there were hints that coffee may even be beneficial, said the International Agency for Research on Cancer -- but not if consumed hotter than 65 degrees Celsius.A review of over 1,000 studies concluded that drinking "very hot" beverages was "probably carcinogenic to humans,

World News June 15, 2016

OSLO (AFP) -- US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia on Wednesday that US patience on the Syria conflict and the issue of President Bashar al-Assad's fate is running out."Russia needs to understand that our patience is not infinite, in fact it is very limited with whether or not Assad is going to be held accountable," Kerry said during a visit to Norway."We also are prepared to hold accountable members of the opposition" who have been involved in continuing violence, he said after a meet

World News June 15, 2016

PARIS (AP) -- French police and anti-terrorism investigators have been alerted to the possibility that small groups of extremists have left Syria for France and Belgium with plans to stage attacks.Belgian intelligence services sent a note to French counterparts about the possible groups, and it was sent to police across France on Tuesday, a French security official said Wednesday. French authorities remain "very cautious" about the information because they receive such notes routinely, the offic

World News June 15, 2016

BEIRUT (AP) -- An international advocacy group accused the United Nations on Wednesday of not being neutral in the Syrian conflict, claiming that the world body is prioritizing its relationship with the Damascus government over delivering aid to civilians.  The Beirut-based Syria Campaign said in a scathing report that the U.N. has "allowed the Syrian government to direct aid from Damascus almost exclusively into its territories," at the expense of establishing regular aid access to hundreds of

World News June 15, 2016

BRUSSELS (AP) -- NATO allies will likely agree next month to extend the Afghanistan training mission and keep troops in all four sections of the country next year, a senior NATO diplomat said Wednesday, leaving the door open for the U.S. to maintain current troops levels if the Obama administration decides it's necessary,Under current plans, the U.S. will cut its troop numbers from 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of 2016. But in the face of a resurgent Taliban, former commanders have urged President B

World News June 15, 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will meet at the White House Wednesday with the Dalai Lama in a get-together the Chinese government assailed.Obama had been scheduled to travel to Wisconsin to appear at a campaign event with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But the event was postponed after Sunday's shooting at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub that left 50 people dead, including the gunman.That created a hole in Obama's schedule, and the White House filled it w

World News June 15, 2016

SEOUL/PARIS (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian plan to delve into how they could jointly act to tighten the screws on a defiant North Korea as well as ways to boost bilateral collaboration when they meet for talks on Wednesday, the defense ministry said.The defense ministers are scheduled to hold a meeting from 4:30 p.m. in Paris at the headquarters of the French defense ministry, the first full-length defense ministers' talks bet

Defense June 15, 2016

BEIJING (Yonhap) -- China's foreign ministry said Wednesday that it has been working to ensure a full implementation of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, a day after the country decided to ban exports of more goods that could be used for military purposes by Pyongyang.In line with the latest U.N. resolution to punish North Korea for conducting its fourth nuclear test in January this year, China's commerce ministry announced the decision on Tuesday evening,

North Korea June 15, 2016

INCHEON (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Coast Guard said Wednesday it will request warrants to formally arrest the captains and senior crew members of two Chinese fishing boats that were seized while operating illegally in the neutral waters between two Koreas earlier this week.The country's military police captured the boats in the neutral waters of the Han River estuary on Tuesday and turned them over to the Coast Guard. It was the first time Chinese boats were captured in the area since the South K

Social Affairs June 15, 2016

ISTANBUL (AFP) -- Turkey has detained a Japanese citizen in the south of the country on suspicion of seeking to cross the border into Syria to join Islamic State jihadists, the Dogan news agency said on Wednesday.The young man aged 24, named as M.M., was detained late on Tuesday in the Nizip district of the southern city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border.According to Dogan, he had admitted to wanting to travel to Syria after getting to know an unnamed contact by telephone and then agreein

World News March 23, 2016

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- Brussels airport suicide bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui left a rushed will in a trash can saying he did not know what to do after police were hunting for him, the federal prosecutor said Wednesday.Bakraoui's will said he was "in a rush", I don't know what to do, hunted everywhere, no longer safe" and "I don't want to end up in a cell next to him", Frederic van Leeuw said at a press conference. That appeared to be a reference to Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, who is reportedl

World News March 23, 2016

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- A third man filmed with two suicide bombers at Brussels airport who fled the scene without detonating his device, remains on the run, the federal prosecutor said Wednesday."The third man is on the run; he left his bag with the biggest bomb in it which exploded later because it was so unstable," Frederic Van Leeuw said, referring to the man in a hat and white coat in the CCTV images."This third person remains unidentified and is still being looked for," he said, adding that anot

World News March 23, 2016