BANGKOK – A tour bus carrying Chinese tourists has plunged off a road on the Thai island of Phuket, killing three and injuring 16. Police Col. Noppadon Thiraprawat says the bus was traveling downhill, lost control and fell into an embankment Wednesday in Chalong district. He says the three Chinese …
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BRUSSELS – France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen says Europe must examine whether its immigration and security policies or economic austerity are partly to blame for the attacks in France. Addressing the European parliament in Strasbourg Monday, Le Pen said: “Is the total opening of our national borders the real …
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BRUSSELS – European Union lawmakers have condemned Turkey for cracking down on media freedom, saying the government’s response to corruption allegations raises questions about its commitment to democracy. Parliamentarians said Thursday in a resolution that Ankara’s actions have “cast serious doubts on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and …
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CANBERRA, Australia – Australia’s prime minister says he still holds out hope that Indonesia will not execute two Australian drug traffickers on death row, saying mercy must play a part in the Indonesian justice system. Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were sentenced to death in 2006 for their leading roles …
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YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar’s government is accusing ethnic rebels of trying to scuttle a nationwide peace deal, as tensions soar in the northern state of Kachin. Sporadic clashes between the army and insurgents have left more than 1,800 civilians trapped in a village. Emotions are high in the state capital, …
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FRANKFURT, Germany – A closely watched indicator of German business optimism rose for the third straight month in January, giving a positive signal from Europe’s biggest economy. The business climate survey from the Munich-based Ifo institute rose to 106.7 points from 105.5 points in December, beating expectations among market analysts …
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SAO PAULO – A Brazilian judge has ordered that the bank accounts of a former president of Brazil’s state-run oil company be made available to prosecutors investigating allegations of overbilling. Judge Roseli Nalin accepted the request made last month by prosecutors for access to the bank accounts Jose Sergio Gabrielli, …
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 has struck central Argentina. The quake struck at 7:49 a.m. on Monday, with its epicenter about 87 kilometers (54 miles) from the city of La Punta, and about 314 kilometers (213 miles) from …
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HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s government said the country’s 90-year-old president did not fall down the stairs from a podium, saying President Robert Mugabe “managed to break the fall.” Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told the state-owned Herald newspaper Thursday that Mugabe tripped over a hump on a red carpet at Harare …
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JERUSALEM – Israel’s prime minister has accused the publisher of an influential newspaper of carrying out a smear campaign against him. Benjamin Netanyahu took to Facebook on Monday, accusing Noni Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot of conducting the campaign to advance personal business interests. Yediot and its sister news site …
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