May, 2016

• 17 May

  Australia arrests teen for plotting terror attack

    SYDNEY / AP A teenager was arrested on Tuesday after Australian police alleged he had been planning to launch a terrorist attack in Sydney. The 18-year-old was expected to be charged with planning a terrorist attack, the Australian Federal Police said. They said another charge — preparing to enter a foreign country to engage in hostile activities — was ...

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• 17 May

  Nepal frees Briton arrested over anti-charter protest

    Kathmandu / AFP Nepal on Tuesday released a British tourist arrested for allegedly joining a protest against the country’s new constitution, days after a Canadian’s visa was revoked over his political tweets. Hundreds of demonstrators from ethnic minorities have been protesting in Kathmandu since Sunday, calling for changes to the divisive new charter which they say leaves them politically ...

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• 17 May

  Car bomb kills 39 in Baghdad market

  

    BAGHDAD / AP A car bomb ripped through an outdoor market in a Shiite-dominated Baghdad neighborhood on Tuesday, killing at least 39 people, officials said, the latest in a wave of deadly militant attacks far from the front lines in the country’s north and west where Iraqi forces are battling the IS group. No one immediately claimed responsibility for ...

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• 17 May

  Turkey begins debating hotly-contested immunity bill

    Ankara / AP The Turkish parliament on Tuesday began debating a hugely controversial bill that would strip dozens of deputies of their parliamentary immunity and which pro-Kurdish deputies say is directly aimed at driving them out of the legislature. The debates, which could prove fiery, are to begin at around midday GMT in the main chamber, with a final vote ...

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• 17 May

  S Korea military seeks to scrap draft exemptions

    Seoul / AFP South Korea’s defence ministry said on Tuesday it was pushing to scrap nearly all existing exemptions to mandatory military service, citing a shortfall in the number of conscripts. Some 28,000 able-bodied men are exempted every year, either because of the nature of their academic studies, or because they opt to serve their time in the police ...

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• 17 May

  US warns citizens against travel to N Korea

  

    Washington / AFP The State Department has urged Americans to avoid all travel to North Korea, warning that US citizens making the trip risk long and “unduly harsh” imprisonment if they fall foul of laws in the hermit state. At least 14 US citizens have been detained by Pyongyang over the past decade, according to Washington. “The State Department ...

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• 17 May

  Clinton woos blue-collar voters in Kentucky, raps Donald Trump

  

    Hopkinsville / AFP Presidential primaries in Oregon and Kentucky on Tuesday were likely to avail Hillary Clinton a chance to bolster her almost insurmountable delegate lead over Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, who has vowed to slog on despite long odds. Sanders is gunning for victory in the Bluegrass State, building on his win last week in neighboring West Virginia ...

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• 17 May

  Boris Johnson crossed line with Hitler reference: Tusk

    Copenhagen / AFP European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday criticised the former conservative mayor of London Boris Johnson for having “crossed boundaries” by saying the European Union was behaving like Adolf Hitler. “I cannot stay silent,” Tusk told reporters in Copenhagen. Johnson, a leading campaigner for Britain to leave the EU, had “crossed boundaries” of acceptable political debate, Tusk ...

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• 17 May

  Philippines detains 25 Chinese, 18 Vietnamese fishermen

    Manila / AFP Philippine anti-poaching patrols have detained two Chinese and three Vietnamese fishing vessels along with more than three dozen crew members in the extreme north of the country, officials said on Tuesday. The arrests near tiny islands off the main island of Luzon came as a maritime dispute between Manila and Beijing simmers in the South China ...

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• 17 May

  Brawl in S Africa parliament as opposition party ejected

    Cape Town / AFP A brutal fistfight broke out in the South African parliament Tuesday as security guards ejected opposition lawmakers in an ugly fracas that underlined heightened political tensions over Jacob Zuma’s presidency. About 20 Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party members, who were wrestled from their seats by plain-clothed guards, had refused to let Zuma speak and furiously ...

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