Two women pleaded not guilty Monday to murdering the half-brother of North Korea's leader, at the start of their trial in Malaysia over the Cold War-style assassination that shocked the world.Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, who arrived at the heavily guarded court in handcuffs and wearing bulletproof vests, entered their pleas through interpreters as proceedings got under way.The defendants were arrested just days after the killing of Kim Jong-Nam on February 13 as he waite

World News Oct. 2, 2017

On any night of the week, residents of cosmopolitan Dubai can get a taste of reclusive North Korea's culture at Okryu-gwan, a satellite of Pyongyang's massive national canteen.   On a weekend night, a waitress, wearing a stoplight red dress and DPRK flag name tag, carried a tray full of matching red Coca-Cola cans to a table of Asian patrons.   The waitress -- one of thousands of North Koreans working in the Gulf with the blessing of Pyongyang -- served the ubiquitous American soft drink without

North Korea Sept. 29, 2017

At least 15 people drowned and scores are feared missing after a boat carrying Rohingya families capsized off Bangladesh Thursday, as UN chief Antonio Guterres exhorted Myanmar's leaders to end the refugees' "nightmare."The growing Rohingya refugee crisis prompted the UN Security Council to hold a rare public meeting on Myanmar, with the US slamming the country for trying "to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority" while Beijing and Moscow backed the Myanmar authorities. People come to see th

World Sept. 29, 2017

North Korea on Thursday accused Donald Trump of exploiting the death of Otto Warmbier, referring to the US president as an "old lunatic" for alleging the American student was tortured while in Pyongyang's custody.In a statement issued by the state-run KCNA news agency, North Korea's foreign ministry accused the US of "luring and pushing" 22-year-old Warmbier into breaking the country's laws. "Trump and his clique, for their anti-DPRK propaganda, are again exploiting the death of Otto Warmbier,"

North Korea Sept. 28, 2017

Britain and the EU have taken "decisive steps forward' in Brexit talks after Prime Minister Theresa May's speech last week but more work needs to be done, negotiators said Thursday.Speaking after the fourth round of talks in Brussels, EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Davis said they had achieved more clarity on the details of May's speech in Florence.But Barnier warned that they were "not there yet", with time running out to achieve sufficient progress to get EU lea

World News Sept. 28, 2017

Ambitious Turkish top flight side Antalyaspor, which boasts a star-studded line up including Samuel Eto'o and Samir Nasri, on Thursday named Brazilian Leonardo as its new manager."Following talks, our club has signed a two-year agreement with Leonardo," Antalyaspor said in a statement without giving financial details. Leonardo, who has previously been manager of AC Milan and Inter Milan as well as director of football at Paris Saint-Germain, replaces Riza Calimbay who stepped down after a slow s

World News Sept. 28, 2017

MOSCOW -- Russia and the United States agreed Wednesday to cooperate on a NASA-led project to build the first lunar space station, part of a long-term project to send humans to Mars.The US space agency said earlier this year that it was exploring a programme called the Deep Space Gateway, a multi-stage project to push further into the solar system.File photo: This handout artist impression released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on September 22, 2017 shows a multi-dome lunar base being const

World News Sept. 27, 2017

WASHINGTON  -- US President Donald Trump on Tuesday accused North Korea of brutally abusing an American student who had been held captive in North Korea, saying the young man had been “tortured beyond belief.”Otto Warmbier, 22, died in June a few days after he was sent home in a mysterious coma after more than a year in prison in North Korea.Trump had previously blamed Pyongyang’s “brutal regime” for Warmbier’s plight but it was the first time the president publicly accused North Korea of tortur

North Korea Sept. 26, 2017

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Spiking nuclear tensions between the United States and North Korea showed little sign of abating Sunday as Russia warned of a “very unpredictable nosedive” if Washington does not ease up on its fiery war of words with Pyongyang.US bombers and fighter escorts flew off the coast of North Korea on Saturday and US President Donald Trump took to Twitter with verbal threats as the brinkmanship with Pyongyang intensified.“Just heard Foreign Minister of North Korea speak at UN. If he

North Korea Sept. 25, 2017

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday congratulated Angela Merkel on a "historic" German election victory but called for the formation of a strong coalition government as soon as possible.Merkel met with her party Monday after winning a fourth term with a far weaker mandate, facing the double headache of an emboldened nationalist opposition party and thorny coalition talks. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker gives a press conference at the European Commission in

World News Sept. 25, 2017

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday called a snap election, seeking a fresh term at the helm of the world's third-largest economy as tensions with nearby North Korea reach fever-pitch.Abe hopes to capitalise on a weak and fractured opposition to sweep back into power, as polls show him regaining ground after a series of scandals."I will dissolve the House of Representatives on the 28th" of September, Abe told reporters, a precursor to a general election. The prime minister did not give

World News Sept. 25, 2017

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- A Singaporean member of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria has appeared in a video challenging Britain's Prince Harry to fight the jihadists, a monitoring group and authorities said Sunday.British Prince Harry. EPA-YonhapIt is believed to be the first time that a fighter from the affluent city-state has featured prominently in one of IS's videos. In the English-language video released Saturday, a man identified as "Abu 'Uqayl" from Singapore took issue with Prince Harry tal

World News Sept. 24, 2017

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel's culture minister asked the attorney general Sunday to order the investigation of a prominent Arab Israeli filmmaker who spoke out against the Jewish state during a visit to Lebanon.Xinhua-YonhapMohammed Bakri, who is in Lebanon as part of the "Palestine Days" cultural festival, reportedly said over the weekend that "normalisation with the Zionist enemy is treason, and the debate surrounding it is disgraceful and totally unacceptable".Bakri called his presence in Leban

World News Sept. 24, 2017

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday that the United States would not carry out a strike on North Korea because it knows Pyongyang has nuclear bombs. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov gives a press conference during the 72nd session of UN General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters. Yonhap"The Americans won't carry out a strike on (North) Korea because it's not that they suspect, they know for sure that it has nuclear bombs," Lavrov said in an intervie

World News Sept. 24, 2017

KARANGASEM, Indonesia (AFP) -- More than 34,000 people have fled from a rumbling volcano on the resort island of Bali as the magnitude of tremors grows, prompting fears it could erupt for the first time in more than 50 years, an official said Sunday.  Villagers rest at a temporary shelter in Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia, Saturday. AP-YonhapIndonesia's disaster mitigation agency said the number of people fleeing their homes surrounding the volcano had tripled since Friday amid growing alarm that Mo

World News Sept. 24, 2017