Seoul / AFP South Korean prosecutors said on Sunday that President Park Geun-Hye colluded with her close confidante in a corruption and influence-peddling scandal that has sparked massive nationwide protests and calls for her impeachment. Park’s longtime friend Choi Soon-Sil was charged on Sunday with coercion and abuse of power, as was one of the president’s former aides. Another presidential …

  Paris / AFP France’s right-wing presidential hopefuls kick off their nominating contest on Sunday as a sudden tightening of the race cast doubt on ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s chances of regaining the Elysee Palace. A late surge by the third-placed Francois Fillon, who was prime minister under Sarkozy, catapulted him into pole position for the first-round primary vote. A voter survey …

  Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her party on Sunday she will seek re-election next year, a move likely to be welcomed in many capitals as a sign of stability following poll triumphs for Brexit and Donald Trump. After months of feverish speculation, Merkel said at a meeting of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) that she would run …