Washington / AFP One policeman was shot dead and three others shot and wounded in four US cities, coinciding with an epidemic of racially-tinged gun violence involving law enforcement. Police were shot in San Antonio, Texas, Sanibel, Florida, and in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and Gladstone, local police departments said. There was no known connection between the shootings. …

  Manila / AFP Children as young as nine could be jailed in the Philippines for certain crimes under a proposed law backed by the president, sparking concern on Monday from the United Nations and rights groups. President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies have been pushing to pass laws by December that would restore the death penalty and lower the minimum age of …

  Paris / AFP The surprise winner of the first round of France’s rightwing presidential primary, conservative ex-premier Francois Fillon, was the runaway favourite on Monday to win the contest expected to decide France’s next leader. Fillon, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher who has pledged deep economic reforms, pulled off a stunning upset on Sunday, surging from behind to knock his …