US-China pledge to stabilize deteriorating ties, resume high-level talks after Blinken visit

BEIJING — The United States and China have pledged to stabilize their badly deteriorated ties during a critical visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi pronounced himself satisfied with progress made during talks in Beijing. But, Blinken told media, China refused to resume military to military communications, a US priority. It remains to be seen whether the two countries can resolve their most important disagreements, m

June 19, 2023

Soccer project tracking social media abuse identifies 300 people from World Cup posts

A project using artificial intelligence to track social media abuse aimed at players at the 2022 World Cup identified more than 300 people whose details are being given to law enforcement, FIFA said Sunday. The people made “abusive, discriminatory, threatening posts or comments” on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, soccer’s governing body said in a report detailing efforts to protect players and officials during the tournament played in Qatar. The

June 18, 2023

Militant attack kills 41 at Ugandan school

MPONDWE, Uganda -- Militants linked to the Islamic State group massacred at least 41 people, mostly students, in western Uganda, the country's deadliest such attack in over a decade, officials said Saturday. The military said it was pursuing the attackers from the Allied Democratic Forces, who also abducted six people during a raid on a school late Friday before fleeing back towards the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials and witnesses said guns and knives were used in a grisly late-nig

June 18, 2023

US, Japan, Philippines discuss S. China sea, North Korea

The national security advisers of the United States, Japan and the Philippines on Friday discussed regional security issues and ways to strengthen the trilateral alliance, they said in a joint statement. It was the first meeting between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterparts, Akiba Takeo of Japan and Eduardo Ano of the Philippines. "The three (advisers) discussed a wide range of regional security challenges, including with respect to the South China Sea and

June 16, 2023

[Graphic News] Canadian fires in context of century’s catastrophic wildfires

In the throes of Canada’s raging wildfires, a glance at this century’s major blazes paints a troubling picture of a globe marked by climate change. The 21st century has seen many of these destructive events, with Australia’s 2019-20 season and Russia’s 2021 wildfires scorching immense tracts of land. The fire seasons of 2009 and 2015, one in Australia and another in Russia, saw an alarming loss of life, unlike most other major fires. The current Canadian situation, althou

June 14, 2023

Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-scarred ex-Italian leader, dies at 86, according to his TV network

MILAN — Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday, according to his television network. He was 86. Mediaset announced his death with a smiling photo of the man on its homepage and the headline: “Berlusconi is dead.” Berlusconi was admitted to the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan on Friday, his second recent hospitalization for treatm

June 12, 2023

4 kids found alive after 40 days in Amazon

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Four Indigenous children survived an Amazon plane crash that killed three adults and then braved the jungle for 40 days before being found alive by Colombian soldiers, bringing a happy ending to a search-and-rescue saga that captivated a nation but also prompted questions about their extraordinary survival. Officials in the South American country announced their rescue Friday, following days of highs and lows as searchers frantically combed through the rainforest hunting for

June 11, 2023

Man City beats Inter Milan 1-0 to win first Champions League title and complete 3-trophy sweep

ISTANBUL — Manchester City won the Champions League title for the first time by beating Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul’s Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadium on Saturday. Rodri struck in the 68th minute to see the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners complete a treble of trophies this season. "Today we made history," City captain Ilkay Gundogan said. "We knew everyone was talking about the treble. The pressure was there but this team is built to handle the pressure in the b

June 11, 2023

Trump blasts federal indictment as 'baseless' at first events since charges were unsealed

GREENSBORO -- Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as "ridiculous" and "baseless" Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage and project a sense of normalcy. Speaking at Republican state conventions in Georgia and North Carolina, Trump cast his indictment by the Department of Justice as a

June 11, 2023

Trump indicted: What to know about the documents case and what's next

Donald Trump's indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate has brought renewed attention to one of the most notable cases in Justice Department history. The federal charges represent the biggest legal jeopardy so far for Trump, coming less than three months after he was charged in New York with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Here's a look at the charges, the special counsel's investigation and how Trump's case differs from

June 9, 2023

[Graphic News] World’s major train collisions from 2013

At least 275 people were killed and hundreds more injured in a train collision in the city of Balasore, India, Friday. After two passenger trains collided, one struck a stationary freight train at full speed and derailed itself. This particular train crash is one of the worst train crashes in India in 20 years. According to India’s railways minister, the derailment was caused by an error in the train signaling system. Other deadly train collisions since 2013 include a crash in the Indian s

June 6, 2023

Indonesia kicks off multilateral naval exercise amid Asia-Pacific tension

Indonesia on Monday launched a multilateral naval exercise in its waters, alongside navies from countries including the United States, Britain, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, amid simmering tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. Indonesia's navy said in a statement the routine Komodo drills were a "non-war" exercise that aims to "strengthen relationships between the navies" of 36 countries. The drills come as China and the United States ramp up military diplomacy in

June 5, 2023

Montenegrin court upholds decision to grant bail to Terraform co-founder

A Montenegrin court has once again granted bail to Do Kwon, co-founder of cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs accused of fraud in South Korea and the United States, dismissing an appeal by local prosecutors to revoke the decision. The district court in Podgorica, Montenegro, announced in a notice released Friday that it has agreed to grant bail to Kwon and his aide, known only by the surname Han, on condition they each pay 400,000 euros ($428,241) in bail money and are placed in confinement under

June 4, 2023

China says it opposes US defense chief's comments on engagement

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- China strongly opposes the United States defense chief's comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue that Beijing was unwilling to engage on military crisis management, a senior People's Liberation Army official said on Saturday. Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng also said Beijing reiterates its indisputable sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea and adjacent waters. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had earlier told the conference in Singapore he was deeply conc

June 3, 2023

Erdogan to be sworn in for third term as Turkish president

ANKARA (AFP) -- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to be sworn in on Saturday as head of state after winning a historic runoff election to extend his two-decade rule for another five years as Turkey's economic woes worsen. The inauguration in parliament will be followed by a lavish ceremony at his palace in the capital Ankara attended by dozens of world leaders. Turkey's transformative but divisive leader won the May 28 runoff against a powerful opposition coalition, and despite an

June 3, 2023

More than 280 dead, hundreds hurt in India horror rail crash

India -- At least 288 people were killed and more than 850 injured in a horrific three-train collision in India, officials said Saturday, the country's deadliest rail accident in more than 20 years. Images from the crash site showed smashed train compartments torn open with blood-stained holes near Balasore, in the eastern state of Odisha. Carriages had flipped over entirely in the crash late on Friday and rescue workers searched for survivors trapped in the mangled wreckage, with scores of

June 3, 2023

[Graphic News] N. Korea has world’s highest rates of modern slavery

According to the 2023 Global Slavery Index, modern slavery is present in every country, regardless of its wealth status. The index, published by the human rights charity Walk Free, has indicated that in 2021, around 50 million people were living in situations of modern slavery, with approximately 27.6 million of those people being in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriages. The index indicated that the countries estimated to have the highest modern slavery rates tend to be “conflic

May 31, 2023

Money makes the world go round – and development succeed

By Jeffrey Sachs The key to economic development and ending poverty is investment. Nations achieve prosperity by investing in four priorities. Most important is investing in people, through quality education and health care. The next is infrastructure, such as electricity, safe water, digital networks and public transport. The third is natural capital, protecting nature. The fourth is business investment. The key is finance: mobilizing the funds to invest at the scale and speed required. In pr

May 30, 2023

[Graphic News] Amnesty reports highest number of executions in 5 years

Recorded executions worldwide reached 883 last year, the highest since 2017, according to an Amnesty International report that decried the Middle East and North Africa in particular. The 2022 figure for 20 countries known to have executed people is a 53 percent increase on the previous 12 months, the global rights monitor said. It excludes the “thousands” of prisoners put to death secretively in China, but does count the “staggering” 81 people executed in a single day in

May 30, 2023

[Graphic News] AI threatens humanity’s future, 61% of Americans say: poll

The swift growth of artificial intelligence technology could put the future of humanity at risk, according to most Americans surveyed in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the negative effects of AI and 61 percent believe it could threaten civilization. Since OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot became the fastest growing application of all time, the widespread integration of AI into everyday life has catapulted AI to the forefront of public discourse. ChatGPT h

May 25, 2023