BONN, Germany (AP) — Foreign ministers from 20 of the world's leading nations met Thursday in the former German capital to discuss current conflicts and ways to prevent future crises against a backdrop of uncertainty among allies and adversaries over the direction of U.S. foreign policy.
French conservative Francois Fillon suffered a new blow to his ailing presidential campaign Thursday when prosecutors said they would not drop a probe into an expenses scandal. "The many elements already gathered do not point to throwing out the investigation," prosecutor Eliane Houlette said in a statement. Revelations that Fillon, 62, put his wife Penelope and two of their children on the public payroll have dented his support and boosted prospects for upstart rival Emmanuel Macron ahead of the two-stage vote starting April 23.
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel testified Thursday to a parliamentary committee examining alleged U.S. surveillance in Germany and the activities of German intelligence, defending her insistence that "spying among friends" is unacceptable.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday it was in the interests of both Russia and the United States to restore communications between their respective intelligence agencies. "It's in everyone's interest to resume dialogue between the intelligence agencies of the United States and other members of NATO," Putin said, addressing Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).
By Aukkarapon Niyomyat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai security forces filed past chanting monks on Thursday to search the country's biggest Buddhist temple for an influential former abbot accused of money laundering, but failed to find him. With political parties and many activists silenced since a coup in 2014, the scandal-hit Dhammakaya Temple is a rare institution in defying the junta, which until now trod warily in confronting a group that claims millions of followers.
By Praveen Menon and Emily Chow KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - It was about 8:20 a.m. on Monday morning and there was a bustle of passengers in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur airport's budget terminal when the two women moved in on Kim Jong Nam, estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader. A few steps away from a Starbucks cafe and a Puffy Buffy Malaysian food stall, one of the women stood in front of their quarry to distract him.
By Joseph Sipalan and Liz Lee KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police made a third arrest on Thursday in their hunt for the people involved in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The third person, whose nationality was not disclosed, was the friend of an Indonesian woman who was detained earlier in the day in connection with the killing of Kim Jong Nam at the airport in the Malaysian capital on Monday, police said.
BONN, Germany (AP) — Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says his country expects to have a productive relationship with the Trump administration and is optimistic that U.S.-Saudi cooperation can overcome challenges in the Middle East.
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Suspected Islamic militants gunned down a Coptic Christian teacher on his way to school in northern Sinai on Thursday, the second killing of a Christian in less than a week in the turbulent region, officials said, amid fears of escalating attacks on Christians.
Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee left a Seoul court after more than eight hours on Thursday to await a decision on whether he will be arrested over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye. The 48-year-old Lee, wearing a dark coat and navy tie, kept his head down and did not answer reporters' questions as he left the Seoul Central District Court after the closed-door hearing, and headed to a detention centre pending a judge's ruling. Last month, the same court rejected the special prosecutor's request that Lee be arrested.
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's special prosecution office said on Thursday it has asked for an extension for its investigation into a graft scandal that has engulfed President Park Geun-hye, saying it will not be able to finish by the current Feb. 28 deadline.
Malaysia will return the body of the half-brother of North Korea's leader, the country's deputy prime minister said Thursday, as police probing the airport assassination quizzed three suspects. South Korea says female agents working for Pyongyang poisoned Kim Jong-Nam as he readied to board a flight on Monday. North Korea has made no comment on the killing, but its diplomats objected to an autopsy Malaysian investigators carried out, a senior official said.
Austria said Thursday that it will sue European aerospace giant Airbus over a $2-billion sale of Eurofighter jets that has long been plagued by allegations of kickbacks. A government probe concluded that the Airbus and Eurofigher consortium had "deliberately misled the Austrian Republic on the real price, delivery capabilities and its equipment" of the deal signed in 2003. "Austria would have never decided to buy the Eurofighter jets in 2003 without the fraudulent deception by Airbus and Eurofighter," Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil said.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian diplomats have met with a woman arrested in Malaysia for suspected involvement in the killing of the North Korean leader's half brother and confirmed she is an Indonesian citizen, officials said Thursday. Authorities have identified her as Siti Aisyah, 25, originally from Serang in Banten, a province that neighbors the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. She was arrested by Malaysian police early Thursday. Indonesian Immigration Office spokesman Agung Sampurno said that officials from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur met with the woman in Selangor state, where she has been imprisoned, and ensured she was safe. "They were allowed to see her but cannot make any questions," said Sampurno.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean passenger plane that exploded off the coast of Southeast Asia. Army officers lured into sexual encounters. A secret agent spirited back to North Korea in a tiny submarine.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian diplomats have met with a woman arrested in Malaysia for suspected involvement in the killing of the North Korean leader's half brother and confirmed she is an Indonesian citizen, officials said Thursday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that the world is better off when the EU is strong, amid anti-Brussels sentiment from Brexit and Donald Trump. "The whole world benefits from a strong EU," he said in a speech to the European Parliament, a day after MEPs approved a landmark free trade deal between the EU and Canada. "Canada knows that an effective European voice on the global stage isn't just preferable, it's essential," Trudeau added.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — About 150 Schalke supporters have clashed with riot police in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki ahead of their team's Europa League match against PAOK.
PARIS (AP) — French financial prosecutors decided Thursday to continue their investigation into embezzlement allegations against conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon, saying they have too much evidence to drop the case.
Mozambique was battered by high winds, flooding and sea surges when cyclone Dineo made landfall late Wednesday but the storm has begun to die down, according to meteorologists Thursday. Dineo reached Inhambane, southern Mozambique, between 8:00 pm and midnight on Wednesday, buffeting the town with winds in excess of 100 kmh (62 mph), torrential rain and rough seas, according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS). Dineo was downgraded to a tropical depression by 8:00 am (0600 GMT) Thursday and renamed "ex-Dineo", according to SAWS, which warned that the weather system could still cause heavy rainfall and flooding as it heads inland toward South Africa.
