World

The Trump administration on Tuesday will propose a rule to tighten food stamp restrictions that would cut about 3.1 million people from the program, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials said.Currently, 43 US states allow residents to automatically become eligible for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, if they receive benefits from another … [Read more...] about Trump administration pursues rule that would remove 3.1 mln people from food stamps

High-profile Philippine journalist Maria Ressa's libel trial opened Tuesday in a case that she and press freedom advocates see as government retaliation for her news site's critical reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte.Ressa, who leads online outlet Rappler and was named a Time Magazine "Person of the Year" in 2018 for her journalism, is out on bail and faces years in prison if convicted … [Read more...] about Trial opens for Philippine journalist critical of Duterte

The Mexican Federal Police harassed migrants and threatened to raid a migrant shelter in Coahuila over the weekend, according to the head of a state agency and the head of the shelter, the latest in a series of similar reported incidents.Hugo Morales, president of the state agency, the Coahuila Commission of Human Rights, said he had confirmed multiple online and witness reports that law … [Read more...] about Mexican Federal Police accused of harassment at migrant shelter, latest in a series

Every week a group of bubbly South African teens crowd into a studio to play hip-hop music and trade views on the scourge of neighbourhood gun crime for their community radio show.For them, these are not remote topics. The stories they discuss are devastatingly close to home for the young broadcasters -- one reporter's father was shot dead on her birthday, while another is the daughter of a … [Read more...] about South African teens fight gun crime with radio broadcast

More than half of Venezuela’s 23 states lost power on Monday, according to Reuters witnesses and reports on social media, a blackout the government blamed on an “electromagnetic attack.”It was the first blackout to include the capital, Caracas, since March, when the government blamed the opposition and United States for a series of power outages that left millions of people without running … [Read more...] about Widespread blackout hits Venezuela, government blames ‘electromagnetic attack’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected a new submarine, paying special attention to its combat weapons systems, a week after the nuclear-armed state warned looming military drills in the South could derail nuclear talks with Washington.The submarine will be deployed to the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, the North's official KCNA news agency said Tuesday, without disclosing … [Read more...] about N Korean leader inspects new submarine as talks with US stall

Two Louisiana policemen were fired Monday over an incendiary Facebook post suggesting a liberal congresswoman should be shot, as President Donald Trump’s tweets attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers sparked a national uproar.The officer’s Facebook post followed criticism that the president’s incendiary rhetoric, which continued Monday with a new tweet about the four “very … [Read more...] about US policemen fired for suggesting Democratic lawmaker be shot

Iran said it will attend a meeting in Vienna on Sunday of diplomats from countries still party to the 2015 nuclear deal, as they try to salvage the landmark agreement.The hard-won deal has been threatened with collapse since the United States withdrew from it last year and reimposed biting sanctions against Iran as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign.“It was agreed to convene an … [Read more...] about Iran to meet nuclear deal parties on Sunday

Australia will create a new military unit dedicated to training and assisting Pacific allies, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said on Tuesday, as Canberra accelerates plans to undercut Chinese influence in the region.Australia, which long enjoyed virtually unchecked influence in the Pacific, and its Western allies worry that the region has edged closer to China in recent years as Beijing … [Read more...] about Australia to create new Pacific military unit in bid to woo the region

President Donald Trump said on Monday he will watch only "a little bit" of Robert Mueller's long-awaited congressional testimony on the results of his 22-month inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 US election and renewed his attacks on the former special counsel.Mueller's findings have kept Trump on the defensive since the Justice Department released a redacted version of the former … [Read more...] about As Mueller testimony approaches, Trump can’t look away