ABUJA, Nigeria — Matthew Walley’s eyes sweep over the large forest that has sustained his Indigenous community in Liberia for generations. Even as the morning sun casts a golden hue over the canopy, a sense of unease lingers. Their use of the land is being threatened, and they have organized to resist the possibility of … Read more
MILAN — Day-trippers to the fabled canal city of Venice who fail to pay 5 euros ($5.43) to enter the lagoon city’s historic center during a time-limited pilot program launching later this month will face fines starting at 10 times the entrance fee, officials said Thursday. Venice announced last year it would launch the long-discussed … Read more
TOKYO — Japan’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it’s developing with Britain and Italy to other countries, in the latest move away from the country’s postwar pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter … Read more
MANILA, Philippines — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will underscore Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to its alliance with the Philippines on Tuesday, as clashes between Chinese and Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea turn more hostile, the U.S. State Department said. Blinken, the latest high-level official to visit the U.S. treaty ally, met his … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea — SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean held in Russia on an espionage allegation is a missionary dispatched there to support the needy and spread the gospel, a South Korean Christian aid group said Wednesday, calling the spying suspicion “preposterous.” Russia’s state news agency Tass said Monday that the South … Read more
A South Korean citizen arrested in Russia earlier this year on suspicion of spying is to remain in custody until mid-June, Russia’s state news agency Tass said Monday. The news agency said it is the first time that a South Korean has been arrested for espionage in Russia. Tass said the man, identified by the … Read more
LONDON — Leading British economic think tanks warned Thursday that whoever wins the general election expected this year will face some very tough choices on tax and spending if they want to make sure the public finances don’t deteriorate further. After number-crunching Wednesday’s budget statement from Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt, which reduced a tax paid … Read more
LONDON — British Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt is seeking to bolster spirits within his Conservative Party ranks with a series of tax cuts that he hopes can turn the political dial ahead of a general election this year. Even though the British economy has hit one definition of recession and public finances will remain stretched … Read more
ALGIERS, Algeria — ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria on Sunday inaugurated a gigantic mosque on its Mediterranean coastline after years of political upheaval transformed the project from a symbol of state-sponsored strength and religiosity to one of delays and cost overruns. Built by a Chinese construction firm throughout the 2010s, the “Great Mosque of Algiers” … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of new surface-to-sea missiles and warned that the country would take a more aggressive military posture in disputed seas, the North’s state media said Thursday. The report by the Korean Central News Agency came a day after South Korea’s military detected the … Read more