The Fiji Times

UK PM candidates agree: EU exit needed to defeat Brexit Party

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s next prime minister has to take the country out of the European Union to defeat the challenge of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, five of the six candidates for the job said on Sunday. All of the candidates except frontrunner Boris Johnson were taking part in a televised debate on Channel 4...

Pompeo says U.S. does not want war with Iran; pushes for international response

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States does not want to go to war with Iran but will take every action necessary, including diplomacy, to guarantee safe navigation through vital shipping lanes in the Middle East, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday. U.S.-Iran tensions are high following accusations by the administration of U.S. President...

Former Algerian officials questioned over corruption: TV

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Two former powerful Algerian officials and a prominent businessmen were questioned in courts on Sunday, state TV said, over accusations of corruption in the ruling elite under ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Protesters and the army drove Bouteflika to resign on April 2 after two decades in power, but pressure has continued for the...

Taking aim at Johnson, PM hopefuls make Brexit case

LONDON (Reuters) – Several hopefuls vying to replace British Prime Minister Theresa May turned their fire on favourite Boris Johnson on Sunday, questioning his pledge to leave the European Union by the end of October no matter what. With former London mayor and foreign minister Johnson keeping a low profile, the other candidates have targeted...

Sudan’s Bashir charged with corruption, in first appearance since April

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s ex-president Omar al-Bashir was charged with corruption-related offences on Sunday, as he appeared in public for the first time since he was overthrown and detained in April. Looking much the same as prior to his removal by the military, he was driven to the prosecutor’s office in Khartoum. He was charged...

Israel to attend U.S.-led Palestinian conference

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israelis will attend a U.S-led conference in Bahrain next week on proposals for the Palestinian economy as part of a coming peace plan, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday. The United States has billed the gathering as a workshop to boost the Palestinian economy as part of a broader effort by...

Guatemala votes for new president amid tensions over violence, migration

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Guatemalans on Sunday began voting for a new president, who will face the challenge of curbing drug gang violence that has convulsed the country and helped spur illegal immigration to the United States, fueling tensions with President Donald Trump. Nineteen candidates are competing in the election, which is expected to yield...

Libya PM Serraj will not sit down with rival Haftar to end war

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s internationally recognized Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj said on Sunday he was not prepared to sit down with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar to negotiate an end to the two-month offensive against Tripoli. His comments to Reuters suggest low prospects for a ceasefire soon in the battle for Libya’s coastal capital, where Serraj...

Senior EU diplomat, back from Iran, shows support for nuclear deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU’s second most senior diplomat affirmed the bloc’s support for the nuclear deal between world powers with Iran, including via the use of a new payment system for barter-based trade designed to circumvent U.S. sanctions. Helga Schmid, the secretary general of European Union external action service, visited Tehran last week. She...

Devil is behind children under 16 seeking gender transitioning: Folau

RUGBY star Israel Folau has continued to criticise homosexuals while also targeting youths undergoing gender treatment during a sermon at his Sydney church on Sunday. The Daily Telegraph claims the axed Wallabies and Waratahs player delivered a sermon at his father’s church on Sunday in which he said the devil is behind children under 16...

Israel launches ‘Trump Heights’ on Golan, but construction may lag

BERUCHIM, Golan Heights (Reuters) – Israel approved in principle on Sunday a new community named after U.S. President Donald Trump on a contested frontier zone with Syria – but construction looked likely to lag given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political stumbles. The “Trump Heights” project is intended to cement ties after Trump broke with other...

Argentine president promises investigation following massive blackout

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine President Mauricio Macri called the massive blackout that left tens of millions in South America without power on Sunday “unprecedented”, and promised a thorough investigation. Argentina’s grid “collapsed” around 7 a.m. local time (1100 GMT), leaving the entire country without power, Argentina’s Energy Secretariat said. The outage also cut electricity...

As Peru tightens its border, desperate Venezuelans cling to asylum lifeline

TUMBES, Peru (Reuters) – Thousands of Venezuelans crossed into Peru despite a crackdown on migrants without passports or visas meant to stem the flood of immigration from their crisis-stricken nation, as many lacking those documents filed asylum requests instead. Venezuela’s economic collapse under President Nicolas Maduro has unleashed the biggest migratory crisis in recent Latin...

Blast-hit tankers to be assessed off UAE coast

DUBAI (Reuters) – The two oil tankers crippled in attacks in the Gulf of Oman last week that Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran are being assessed off the coast off the United Arab Emirates before their cargos are unloaded, the ships’ operators said on Sunday. Damage assessment on Japan’s Kokuka Courageous and preparation...

Netanyahu’s wife admits criminal wrongdoing in meals catering case

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, appeared in court on Sunday to admit criminal wrongdoing over the misuse of state funds to order catered meals, in a plea bargain carrying no jail time. Under the agreement, a fraud charge was reduced to a lesser offense and she will pay the state...

Hong Kong leader says sorry as protesters insist she quits

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam apologized to its people on Sunday as an estimated 1 million-plus black-clad protesters insisted that she resign over her handling of a bill that would allow citizens to be sent to mainland China for trial. Organizers said almost 2 million turned out on Sunday to demand...

Pars the stars as Woodland keeps U.S. Open lead

PEBBLE BEACH, CA. (Reuters) – Usually birdies and bogeys are the focal point of any round but for Gary Woodland it was pars that provided the highlights on Saturday, sending him into the final round of the U.S. Open with a one shot lead. Woodland’s two-under 69 featured three birdies and a lone bogey but...

Fleming and Prince book Canada’s last-16 spot

GRENOBLE, France (Reuters) – Jessie Fleming and Nichelle Prince got second-half goals to give Canada a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday and book their place in the last 16 of the women’s World Cup. Canada dominated the first half and Fleming put them ahead three minutes after the interval following a fine run...

Rabat organizers made it impossible for Semenya to race, says legal team

(Reuters) – The Moroccan Athletics Federation made it “impossible” for Caster Semenya to compete at the Rabat Diamond League meeting on Sunday because of the lateness of a re-invitation, the South African athlete’s legal team said on Saturday. Semenya, the double Olympic 800 meters champion, never declined an invitation to run in the Rabat 800m,...

WTA roundup: Bertens to face Riske in Libema final

Top-seeded Kiki Bertens will play for her third title of the season after dispatching Kazakhstan qualifier Elena Rybakina in the semifinals of Libema Open at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Bertens thrived on the court in her home country as she recorded five aces while posting the 6-4, 6-4 win over Rybakina. Bertens will play Alison Riske in...

Canada crush Martinique 4-0 in Gold Cup opener

PASADENA, Calif. (Reuters) – Prolific teenager Jonathan David scored twice as Canada thrashed Martinique 4-0 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday to win the opening match of the Gold Cup. Canada threatened from the outset and it felt like only a matter of time before Les Rouges would break through, which they did...

Japanese police officer stabbed in possible targeted attack: NHK

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese police officer was stabbed several times in the chest with a kitchen knife and his loaded handgun stolen while on patrol on Sunday morning in the western city of Suita, in a rare case of violent crime in Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported. The attack, which police believe may have...

Al Shabaab kill 16 in Kenya and Somalia blasts

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Somali militants killed eight Kenyan police with a roadside bomb near the border between the two countries on Saturday, officials said, while another eight died in a bombing the same group carried out in the Somali capital. Both attacks were claimed by Somali Islamist insurgents, who also kidnapped three Kenyan police reservists...

Leaked chats appear to show judge advised prosecutors in Lula case

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Leaked personal messages published on Saturday by a news website show the judge who led the corruption trial that jailed former Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva advised prosecutors to influence public opinion against the leftist leader. The Intercept posted what it said were social media chats from then judge Sergio...

Trump calls London mayor a ‘disaster’ after a spate of killings

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump once again criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday, saying he is a “disaster” and will “only get worse” after three people were slain in the city in less than 20 hours. Trump retweeted a tweet by the right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins who called London “stab city” and...

Spain’s conservatives retake Madrid, far-left keeps Barcelona

MADRID (Reuters) – A conservative was sworn in on Saturday as Madrid’s new mayor, regaining control of the Spanish capital for the People’s Party after forging a coalition including the far right, while the far-left won a second term in Barcelona with support from the Socialists and others. Spain’s municipal elections in May led to...

Saudi Arabia blames Iran for tanker attacks but doesn’t want war

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s crown prince blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and called on the international community to take a “decisive stand” but said in an interview published on Sunday that the kingdom does not want a war in the region. Attacks on two oil tankers...

Amanda Knox breaks down in Italy as she relives murder trial

ROME (Reuters) – Amanda Knox, back in Italy for the first time since her 2015 murder acquittal, broke down in tears on Saturday as she relived her eight-year ordeal of trials and imprisonment, and the media frenzy surrounding it. Speaking at a conference on criminal justice in the northern Italian city of Modena, Knox said...

China says reached ‘broad consensus’ with U.N. after Xinjiang visit

BEIJING (Reuters) – China and the United Nations have reached a “broad consensus” about counter-terror work, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday after a controversial visit by a senior U.N. official to the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang this week. The United States and other western countries objected to a visit by the...

World

Russia dismisses accusations of meddling in EU elections: newspaper