Outgoing White House chief John Kelly said in an interview published Sunday that he had "nothing but compassion" for undocumented migrants crossing into the US, and undercut President Donald Trump's claims to be building a "wall" at the Mexico border.As a partial government shutdown entered a ninth day due to an impasse over Trump's demands for funding the US-Mexico border barrier, the president's chief of staff told the Los Angeles Times: "To be honest, it's not a wall." Outgoing White House Ch

World News Dec. 31, 2018

A charity rescue vessel carrying 311 mainly African migrants plucked off Libya docked in Spain on Friday, ending a traumatic journey which saw them spend Christmas at sea and several European nations denying the ship entry.The migrants cheered and applauded as the vessel docked in the port of Crinavis near the southern city of Algeciras.Proactiva Open Arms, the Spanish charity which runs the Open Arms vessel carrying the migrants, feted the arrival with a "Mission accomplished" tweet.The migrant

World News Dec. 29, 2018

Influential German news weekly Der Spiegel, shaken by a scandal over a reporter who admitted faking stories for years, said it has suspended two senior editors.The contracts of Ullrich Fichtner, an editor in chief, and Matthias Geyer, a chief editor, have been "suspended until the (magazine's) internal commission has completed its investigation into the affair," the editor in chief Steffen Klusmann said in an internal letter, of which AFP obtained a copy on Friday.On December 19, Der Spiegel stu

World News Dec. 29, 2018

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday triggering a tsunami warning, with small waves expected to hit southern parts of the country and neighbouring Indonesia.The quake struck southeast of Davao City at a depth of 59 kilometres (35 miles), the US Geological Survey said, a week after a volcano-triggered tsunami killed more than 400 people in Indonesia.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said "hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible" al

World News Dec. 29, 2018

A Canadian teacher arrested in China for administrative reasons -- a case officially unrelated to the ongoing diplomatic row between Beijing and Ottawa -- has been freed, authorities said Friday.Global Affairs Canada "confirms that a Canadian citizen, who was detained in China in December, was released and has now returned to Canada," spokesman Richard Walker said, without providing further details. The arrest of Sarah McIver, a teacher accused of working illegally in China, was announced shortl

World News Dec. 29, 2018

Three Vietnamese holidaymakers and an Egyptian tour guide were killed Friday when a roadside bomb blast hit their bus as it travelled close to the Giza pyramids outside Cairo, officials said.A statement by the public prosecutor's office said 11 other tourists from Vietnam and an Egyptian bus driver were wounded when the homemade device exploded.  The improvised explosive device was placed near a wall along the Mariyutiya Street in Al-Haram district near the Giza Pyramids, it said. The bus was ca

World News Dec. 29, 2018

Six men were arrested in central Vietnam for killing and eating an endangered monkey while livestreaming it on a social media site, police said Friday.The trafficking and consumption of rare and endangered species is widespread in Vietnam as many still believe in the healing and medicinal qualities of the animals' body parts.But the sale of the animals occurs on the black market, and consumers rarely broadcast the killing and eating of the creatures, which are protected under Vietnam's conservat

World News Dec. 28, 2018

Japan is withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission and will resume commercial whaling next year, a government spokesman said Wednesday, in a move expected to spark international criticism."We have decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission in order to resume commercial whaling in July next year," top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.Japan is determined to resume commercial whaling. (AFP)"Commercial whaling to be resumed from July next year will be

World News Dec. 26, 2018

Britain is forbidding puppies and kittens from being sold by pet shops in a bid to crack down on animal exploitation and abuse.The government said it will roll out the legislation next year after holding public consultations that showed 95 percent support for the ban."This will mean that anyone looking to buy or adopt a puppy or kitten under six months must either deal directly with the breeder or with an animal re-homing centre," the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said

World News Dec. 26, 2018

Suicide attackers stormed the Libyan foreign ministry in the capital Tripoli on Tuesday, killing at least three people including a senior civil servant in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.Twenty-one other people were wounded in the attack, authorities said.A car bomb exploded near the ministry, prompting security forces to rush to the scene, said special forces spokesman Tarak al-Dawass.A firetruck and security officers at the scene of an attack on the Libyan foreign ministr

World News Dec. 26, 2018

A volcano-triggered tsunami has left at least 222 people dead and hundreds more injured after slamming without warning into beaches around Indonesia's Sunda Strait, officials said Sunday, voicing fears that the toll would rise further.Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which hit the coast of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9:30 pm (1430 GMT) on Saturday after a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa erupted, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugr

World News Dec. 23, 2018

The death toll from a double car-bomb attack near the presidential palace in Somalia rose to 20 on Sunday, police said.Police on Saturday had said seven people were killed following the two blasts in Mogadishu, which were claimed by the jihadist Shabaab group."The number of victims who were killed in the blasts increased to 20 and more than 40 others have been wounded," said a Somali police official, Ibrahim Mohamed.He said the toll had risen after some of those wounded on Saturday died in hospi

World News Dec. 23, 2018

Brett McGurk, the US special envoy to the anti-Islamic State group coalition, has resigned, a State Department official said Saturday, capping a chaotic week that saw the departure of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Donald Trump's stunning decision to pull troops from Syria.McGurk's resignation, effective December 31, comes on the heels of Mattis's decision to quit the Trump administration over key disagreements with the US president, notably the Syria withdrawal. Brett McGurk (AP)Just last wee

World News Dec. 23, 2018

A tsunami following a volcanic eruption killed at least 168 people when it slammed without warning into popular beaches around Indonesia's Sunda Strait on Saturday night, cutting a swathe of destruction and triggering mass panic as it swept inland.Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which hit the coast of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9:30 pm (1430 GMT) following the eruption of a volcano known as the "child" of the legendary Krakatoa, national disaster agency

World News Dec. 23, 2018

The partial US government shutdown is set to stretch on through Christmas as the Senate adjourned Saturday with no deal in sight to end the impasse over funding for Donald Trump's wall on the US-Mexico border.Due to the shutdown -- which saw several key US agencies cease operations at 12:01 am (0501 GMT) Saturday -- Trump will remain in Washington over Christmas instead of going to Florida, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. (AFP)"I am in the White House, working hard," the Republican president twe

World Dec. 23, 2018