WASHINGTON (AFP) -- President Donald Trump's legal team presented Saturday its line of defense for his upcoming impeachment trial, a process they dismissed as unconstitutional and "dangerous." It was the first time the team presented its arguments, modeled on those put forward since December by Trump and his fellow Republicans. White House counsel Pat Cipollone will be lead lawyer, backed by Tr...

NAYPYIDAW (AFP) -- Facebook apologised Saturday for a distasteful mistranslation of Chinese President Xi Jinping's name from Burmese language posts during his much-touted visit to Myanmar. His two-day visit to Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw was the first made by a Chinese leader in almost two decades. But the historic moment was dimmed by the automatic translation feature on Myanmar's Facebook pag...

The hordes flocking to the Louvre in Paris fell to 9.6 million in 2019 as the museum tried to limit overcrowding, its director said. After numbers rocketed by a quarter the previous year to a record 10.2 million, the most visited museum in the world said, it set out to actively discourage tourists in the peak summer months. The Louvre gets far more visitors than any other museum in the world...

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- After nearly two years of conflict between the world's top two economic powers, the United States and China signed a trade truce on Wednesday, letting businesses around the globe breathe a sigh of relief. The deal is a boon to US President Donald Trump, who faces an impeachment trial and a tough reelection fight later this year. Trump called the agreement "momentous." But t...

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States on Monday removed the currency manipulator label it imposed on China last summer, in a sign of easing tensions between the two economic powers after nearly two years of conflict. Just two days before President Donald Trump is set to sign a "phase one" trade agreement with China, the US Treasury said in its semi-annual report to Congress that the yuan has str...

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump warned Iran Sunday against killing protesters who have risen up over the regime's downing of a civilian airliner as his defense secretary left the door open to talks with Tehran without preconditions. Trump's salvo came as Iran's Islamic regime faced a challenge from angry street protests, having come to the brink of war with the US after a series of...

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran signalled Sunday it favours a de-escalation after 10 days of heightened tensions with the United States during which both sides fired missiles and Tehran accidentally shot down a passenger aircraft. Security was stepped up in Iran's capital after a vigil the previous night for those killed in the air disaster turned into an angry protest and police temporarily arrested the B...

MANILA (AFP) -- The Philippines was on alert Monday for the "explosive eruption" of a volcano south of Manila, which officials said could be imminent after a massive column of ash forced a halt to flights at the capital's main airport. Taal volcano, a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake, spewed ash, rumbled with earthquakes and exploded with lightning above its cre...

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Fresh from a landslide reelection victory, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met Sunday with the de facto US ambassador to Taipei, as China warned that countries should stick with recognizing communist-ruled Beijing as the rightful government of ''One China,'' including Taiwan. William Brent Christensen, a US diplomat who is director of the American Institute in Taiwan, congra...

Australia is experiencing an unprecedented, drought-fueled bushfire crisis that has burnt swathes of land across the vast continent. The catastrophic bushfires have killed at least 26 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched some 8 million hectares -- an area the size of the island of Ireland. Scientists say the drought-fueled blazes are being worsened by climate change, which is...

TEHRAN (AFP) -- Iran said Saturday it "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake". At a ...

TAIPEI (AFP) -- Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen won a landslide victory on Saturday as voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Beijing's campaign to isolate the self-ruled island and handed its first female leader a second term. Tsai, 63, was greeted by thousands of jubilant flag-waving supporters outside her party headquarters, hailing a result which looks set to infuriate China. "Today we have ...

TEHRAN, Jan 9, 2020 (AFP) - Iran, alluding to "doubtful scenarios", on Thursday challenged international suggestions that the Ukrainian airliner that crashed outside Tehran this week was mistakenly downed by an Iranian missile. The Iranian government, in a statement, urged Canada to share its information after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "multiple" intelligence sources indicate that Iran ...

Iran fired missiles Wednesday at Iraqi bases housing the US military, officials in Washington and Tehran said, in the first act of the Islamic Republic’s promised revenge for the US killing of a top Iranian general. Across the Middle East, these threats have put on high alert the bases, ports and other installations where US troops are based or pass through. The US has tens of thousands of m...

BEIRUT (AFP) -- Fugitive auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn on Wednesday accused Nissan and Japanese prosecutors of plotting against him as he staged an impassioned defence at his first public appearance since fleeing the country. In a combative news conference in Beirut, the former Renault-Nissan boss -- one of the world's most high-profile corporate executives -- slammed the financial misconduct charges...