US President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday that migrants at the US-Mexico border would stay in Mexico until their asylum claims were individually approved in US courts, but Mexico’s incoming government denied they had struck any deal. Mexico’s incoming interior minister said there was “no agreement of any type between the future government of Mexico […]
No doctors, nurses or painkillers: surviving pregnancy in Venezuela
Yoli Cabeza was sent from one hospital to another before finally giving birth to her daughter Yusmari in the corridor of a maternity ward because her contractions came quicker than medical help. The 37-year-old was diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy but that didn’t spare her from Venezuela’s medical “roulette” — the practice of referring patients […]
Hand in hand, Koreas seek to end UNESCO wrestling
North and South Korea have long grappled over their joint symbols at the United Nations culture organisation UNESCO, but they could share the honours this week when twin applications for traditional Korean wrestling come up for consideration. The two Koreas are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than […]
Australia’s embattled government suffers state vote ‘bloodbath’
Australia’s embattled minority government has suffered a further blow after a big loss in a crucial state poll ahead of national elections next year. The Labor government for Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, was returned to power in a landslide after elections on Saturday. Provisional results collated by national broadcaster ABC pointed to a 4.8 […]
Brazil’s president-elect to undergo medical procedure after inauguration
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far-right president-elect, said on Saturday he tentatively plans to undergo a medical procedure to remove a colostomy bag on Jan. 20, nearly three weeks after he takes office. Bolsonaro, who was elected last month on a promise to rid Latin America’s largest economy of graft and crush Brazil’s violent drug gangs, said […]
Nigeria’s Buhari breaks silence on soldier deaths in Islamist attack
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday ended almost a week of silence regarding attacks by Islamists which security sources said killed around 100 soldiers in the northeastern state of Borno. “President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed deep shock over the killing of military personnel,” the presidency said in an emailed statement issued by Buhari’s spokesman, Garba […]
Police face-off with tribe in missionary killing
Indian officers had a nervous long-distance face-off with the tribe who killed an American missionary, in their latest bid to locate his body on a remote island, police said Sunday. The police team, who took a boat just off Indian-owned North Sentinel island on Saturday, spotted men from the Sentinelese tribe on the beach where […]
Rain breaks, easing search for remains of California wildfire
Teams searching for remains from the deadliest wildfire in California history were able to comb through wreckage in dry weather on Saturday, but rains are expected to return next week and officials warned of a threat of mudslides. The so-called Camp Fire all but obliterated the mountain community of Paradise, 175 miles (280 km) northeast […]
Islamic State claims attack in southern Libya that killed at least nine
Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for an attack on a town in Libya’s southern desert that killed nine people and in which several people were kidnapped, according to a resident. The militant group, which made its claim in a statement on its news agency Amaq, said 29 people had been either killed or wounded […]
Voters to decide on ‘Swiss law, not foreign judges’ proposal
The Swiss vote on Sunday on a proposal to give Switzerland’s laws clear priority over international law – a move supporters say would reinforce its sovereignty but which critics claim would deeply damage its ties with the rest of the world. The “Swiss law, not foreign judges” measure calls for a provision to be added […]