Notre-Dame restoration enters risky phase with scaffolding removal
PARIS – The operation to shore up fire-ravaged Notre-Dame Cathedral is entering a risky stage as engineers resume preparations for the removal of scaffolding that could provoke a further collapse.…
Doubts over success of firearm buybacks in New Zealand as amnesty ends
WELLINGTON – New Zealand’s ambitious firearm amnesty ends today with questions over its success, as critics say the police only managed to collect about a third of the weapons that…
Guinea president announces constitutional referendum that could keep him in power
CONAKRY- Guinea President Alpha Conde says that he will seek a public referendum on a new constitution, a move his opponents fear he will use as a pretext to hang…
Chinese Premier says Hong Kong not yet out of protest ‘dilemma’
HONG KONG, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in Beijing on Monday, saying the Asian financial hub was not yet out…
Probes into NZ volcano tragedy to take months and carry criminal penalties
WELLINGTON – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says that official inquiries into last week’s fatal volcano eruption could take up to a year, and will carry potential criminal penalties…
Hong Kong protests flare ahead of Xi meeting with city leader
HONG KONG – Hong Kong police have fired tear gas in late night street clashes with anti-government protesters, ahead of a potentially pivotal meeting between Hong Kong’s leader and China’s…
More than two dozen people feared missing after NZ volcanic eruption kills 5
WHAKATANE, New Zealand – More than two dozen people are feared missing, one day after a volcano that is a tourist attraction suddenly erupted off the coast of New Zealand’s…
Pope meets with Maltese PM hit by scandal over reporter’s murder
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has given a private audience to outgoing Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, ignoring an appeal to cancel the meeting with a premier engulfed in crisis…
Democrats to spend weekend drafting impeachment charges against Trump
WASHINGTON – Democrats in the US House of Representatives will spend the weekend on Capitol Hill preparing for what could be the final week of their months-old impeachment inquiry that…
Hong Kong police to take both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ approaches against protests: commissioner
BEIJING/HONG KONG – The Hong Kong police will use both “hard” and “soft” approaches when dealing with protests, Hong Kong’s police commissioner Chris Tang told reporters in Beijing. The police…
