Worldwide

  France’s weapons sales to Saudi Arabia rose 50 pct in 2018 despite the government calling for an end to the “dirty war” in Yemen, figures released on Tuesday showed. An annual government report showed that total arms sales rose 30 percent to 9.1 billion euros in 2018, driven by …

The Norwegian government has ordered a re-evaluation of a major project to transfer electricity to the United Kingdom amid growing uncertainties about Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. Norway’s oil and energy ministry said in a statement on Thursday that there was a need for the privately-owned NorthConnect to reassess …

Major U.S. cruise operators said on Wednesday they will no longer sail to Cuba following the Trump administration’s ban on travel to the Caribbean island, angering travelers and prompting worries about trip cancellations and company earnings. The new restrictions are aimed at pressuring Cuba’s Communist government to reform and stop …

A former nurse was jailed for life on Thursday for murdering 85 of his patients – the worst killing spree in Germany’s post-war history. Niels Hoegel injected people with lethal drugs and then played the hero by appearing to struggle to revive them, the district court in Oldenburg heard. “Your …

US President Donald Trump threatened to hit China with tariffs on “at least” another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods but said he thought both China and Mexico wanted to make deals in their trade disputes with the United States. Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have risen sharply …

An enormous sandcastle built in the German seaside town of Binz has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest ever structure of its kind. The endeavor was accomplished by Skulptura Projects GmbH, which managed to build a 17.66-meter sandcastle made entirely of sand and water …

The leader of an international religious organization is being held in the US on charges of human trafficking, child rape, and other felonies. Naasón Joaquín García, who heads La Luz del Mundo (The Light of the World) church, was detained at Los Angeles airport, California prosecutors said. Mr. García, known …

Prominent British journalist and political activist George Galloway has been sacked as the host of a popular radio show after her published anti-Israeli comments online. Galloway was fired by TalkRadio station after he sent a tweet congratulating football club Liverpool FC on their victory in UEFA Champions League final against …

A study of recent polls carried out in the United Kingdom shows the majority of voters in the country have not a good opinion of Boris Johnson as their next prime minister. Polling expert Robert Hayward told the Guardian on Wednesday that voters in Britain have a “distinct antipathy” towards …

Tens of thousands of Czechs took to the streets on Tuesday, June 4, to demand the resignation of billionaire Prime Minister Andrej Babis over alleged conflicts of interest involving his former business empire and an investigation into a decade-old EU subsidy. Demonstrators filled the 700-meter-long rectangular Wenceslas Square in central …

Donald Trump is set to join Queen Elizabeth II and 15 other heads of state in the British city of Portsmouth Wednesday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day; the largest joint military operation ever was undertaken. World leaders, royalty and veterans will gather at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial to …

China has conducted a pioneering launch of a space rocket from a cargo ship, becoming “the first nation” to fully own and operate a floating launch platform. A Long March 11 carrier rocket lifted off from the pad installed on a civilian ship in the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, the …

Hungary’s government is moving to tighten its grip on the research institutions of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, despite protests by scientists against political control of the academy. Since taking power in 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has tightened government control of public life, including the courts, the media, and …

A group of former U.S. ambassadors to Mexico representing both Republican and Democratic presidents have banded together to urge US President Donald Trump to treat trade and migration as separate issues, the diplomats wrote in an article. The article is signed by all six living ex-U.S. ambassadors to Mexico who …

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marked the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on Tuesday by expressing “real concerns” about China’s human rights record, prompting a swift protest from Beijing. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have deteriorated badly since December when police in Vancouver detained Huawei Technologies Co …

A gunman killed four people and wounded one in the Australian city of Darwin on Tuesday, authorities said, in one of the country’s most violent attacks in years. A suspect had been arrested, police said. “At this stage, we do not believe this is terrorism-related. This is one individual who …

Nearly 20,000 women have signed an online petition demanding the government ban companies from requiring female employees to wear high heels on the job – an example of gender discrimination, says Yumi Ishikawa, who started the drive. The #KuToo campaign is a play on the word for shoes, or “kutsu” …

Police said they had found the body of a twelfth South Korean tourist a week after a pleasure boat capsized and sank on the River Danube in Budapest, killing an estimated 28 people. The man was found late on Tuesday 60km (37 miles) downstream from Hungary’s capital, police said, underlining …

Sudan’s military ruler offered to resume talks with opposition groups without conditions on Wednesday, in an apparent olive branch two days after security forces mounted a deadly raid on a protest camp in central Khartoum. Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s offer marked a step-back from the army’s decision to cancel …

Police in Australia has raided the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) over a report that used leaked information to reveal the killing of civilians in Afghanistan by Australian forces. The police raided and searched the public broadcaster’s offices in Sydney on Wednesday, specifically targeting three journalists involved in …