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Mass rape trial sparks demonstrations across France

Thousands demonstrated in major French cities Saturday against violence targeting women, as campaigners push for the country to learn from a mass rape trial that has shocked the public.

Pope to skip Notre Dame opening in Paris for Corsica visit

Pope Francis will visit the French Mediterranean island of Corsica in December, days after skipping the reopening of Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral which was ravaged by a fire in 2019, the Vatican said Saturday.

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UN says Philippine typhoon destruction 'badly underestimated'

The United Nations said destruction caused by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines had been "badly underestimated" in initial assessments, tripling the number of people "seriously affected" to nine million.

Burning bright: Vietnam's gold-plated new year tiger

Vietnamese are paying hundreds of dollars for gold plated tiger models as gifts as Lunar New Year draws near, bucking a major economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.

17 killed, 59 injured by explosion in western Ghana

At least 17 people were killed and 59 injured Thursday in a devastating explosion in a western Ghana town after a truck carrying explosives intended for a mine collided with a motorcycle, the government said.

Bottles clinking, Turkish party train blazes through night

Festive garlands, white tablecloths and enticing bottles appear the moment passengers board the Eastern Express for an epic journey across Turkey's snow-capped Euphrates plateaus.

US charges Belarus officials with air piracy over Ryanair flight diversion

The US Justice department charged four Belarus officials with air piracy Thursday for last year's forced diversion of a Ryanair flight in order to arrest a dissident on board.

Mexico sees drop in murders in 2021

Mexico recorded 33,308 murders last year, marking a 3.6 percent decrease compared with 2020, in a country long plagued by drug cartel violence, official figures showed Thursday.

South Korean plant poacher jailed in US

A South Korean man who traveled around the world stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of plants to smuggle to Asia was jailed in the US on Thursday.

US charges 2nd man in Haitian president's murder

The US Justice Department charged a Haitian-Chilean man Thursday with conspiracy to commit murder for his role in the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise last July.

Probe finds ex-pope Benedict failed to act in German abuse cases

Former pope Benedict XVI knowingly failed to take action to stop four priests accused of child sex abuse in Munich in the 1980s, according to a damning independent report published Thursday that risks shattering the ex-pontiff's reputation.

Release Breivik? Norway court hears closing arguments

Prosecution and defence lawyers presented their closing arguments on Thursday to a Norwegian court which will now decide whether to parole Anders Behring Breivik, just 10 years after the neo-Nazi committed the country's deadliest peacetime attack.

No more politics for Hong Kong barristers, says new Bar chief

The newly elected leader of Hong Kong barristers said Thursday that his profession should avoid politics and build closer ties to mainland China, as concerns grow about rule of law in the financial hub.

Liberian stampede kills 29 people

At least 29 people, including 11 children and a pregnant woman, were killed when robbers triggered a stampede at a religious rally in Liberia's capital, officials said on Thursday.

Benedict XVI: 'Rottweiler' who resigned scandal-dogged papacy

Benedict XVI, accused of failing to act in German sex abuse cases, was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages after presiding over a papacy beset by Church infighting and outcry over paedophilia.

Beijing Olympics organisers say app security flaws 'fixed'

An app that Winter Olympics attendees must use has been patched, a Chinese official told AFP Thursday, after cyber security researchers said they had found a "simple but devastating" flaw that could allow data leaks.

Afghan women activists go into hiding after Taliban crackdown

Several Afghan women's rights activists said Thursday they are going into hiding to escape a Taliban crackdown, just days after the hardline Islamists used pepper spray to break up a rally in the capital.

Texas synagogue hostage-taker 'prayed for two years' for attack: reports

A British man who took hostages at a Texas synagogue told his family he had prayed for two years to carry out the attack, media reported Thursday, as police made two arrests.

First foreign aid flights reach Tonga

The first humanitarian flights arrived in volcano and tsunami-stricken Tonga Thursday, five days after the dual disaster cut the Pacific kingdom off from the rest of the world.

Peril and promise: gas from 'killer lake' powers Rwanda

The engineers aboard the floating power station on Lake Kivu could only watch nervously as the volcano in the distance erupted violently, sending tremors rumbling throughthe water beneath them.

Thailand to restart quarantine-free travel from February 1

Thailand will resume its quarantine-free travel scheme from February 1, officials said Thursday, after the programme was suspended due to the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Ex-pope Benedict under scrutiny in German child abuse probe

A potentially explosive report into the handling of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church will on Thursday be published in Germany, with former pope Benedict XVI among those in the spotlight.

Police deploy in Rio to retake gang-controlled favelas

Some 1,200 heavily armed military police launched an operation Wednesday to wrench control of Rio de Janeiro's slums from drug gangs, starting with the notorious Jacarezinho favela where residents took cover.

Justices seek to downplay Covid mask rift at US Supreme Court

Three US Supreme Court justices on Wednesday dismissed a report of a rift over the wearing of Covid face masks during hearings before the nation's highest court.

Israel police demolish Palestinian home in east Jerusalem eviction

Israeli police demolished a Palestinian family's home and arrested at least 18 people as they carried out a controversial eviction order in the sensitive east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah early Wednesday.

Italy's top court upholds Robinho's nine-year rape conviction

Italy's highest court has upheld former Brazil forward Robinho's nine-year sentence for the gang rape of a young woman, the victim's lawyer said on Wednesday.

Flamboyant former Vogue creative director Andre Leon Talley dies at 73

Influential fashion journalist Andre Leon Talley, the first Black creative director of Vogue, died Tuesday in New York at the age of 73, with figures from fashion and entertainment paying tribute.

Psychiatrist says Breivik still a danger, hitting parole chances

A court-appointed psychiatrist on Wednesday said Anders Behring Breivik is as dangerous now as when he carried out Norway's deadliest peacetime attack in 2011, seemingly quashing his already-slim chances of early release.

Germany tries Syrian doctor for crimes against humanity

German prosecutors accused a Syrian doctor Wednesday of torturing detainees and killing one of them while working in military hospitals in his war-torn homeland, on the first day of a landmark crimes against humanity trial in Frankfurt.

Breivik as dangerous now as a decade ago: psychiatrist

Anders Behring Breivik, who is seeking conditional release just 10 years after carrying out Norway's deadliest peacetime attack, poses the same danger to society as a decade ago, a psychiatrist said in court Wednesday.

Taliban arrest fighter who shot dead Hazara woman at checkpoint

A Taliban fighter has been arrested for shooting dead a Hazara woman at a checkpoint in the Afghan capital as she returned from a wedding, a spokesman for the group said Wednesday.

'We are homeless': Victims of twin Afghan quakes await aid

Survivors of twin earthquakes in Afghanistan were waiting Wednesday for aid to arrive after spending their second night exposed to sub-zero temperatures following tremors that killed at least 22 people and wrecked homes.

China forcibly returned nearly 10,000 in overseas crackdown: report

Beijing has forced nearly 10,000 Chinese overseas nationals to return since 2014 using coercive means outside the justice system, according to a new report.

Verdict due in Belgium trial over UK migrant truck deaths

A Belgian court on Wednesday is to deliver its verdict in a trial of 23 people suspected of being involved with a gang that smuggled Vietnamese migrants to Britain, 39 of whom died in the back of a truck in October 2019.

42,000 rapid antigen tests snatched in Sydney heist

A thief has made off with 42,000 much-sought rapid antigen tests from a freight depot in Sydney, authorities said Wednesday.

Kellogg's falls foul of Mexico sugar labeling rules

US cereal giant Kellogg's has been sanctioned by the Mexican authorities for breaking sugar and other content labeling rules in a country with one of the world's most obese populations.

Bobby Kotick: Embattled Activision CEO faces uncertain future

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick built a video game empire with flagship titles like "World of Warcraft", but he could lose control of it after a whopping Microsoft buyout deal announced Tuesday.

US Supreme Court to determine fate of Pissarro painting looted by Nazis

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed the fate of a painting by Camille Pissarro looted by the Nazis in 1939 and currently on display at a gallery in Spain.

Images reveal devastation in tsunami-hit Tonga

A volcano that exploded in the Pacific island nation of Tonga has almost disappeared from view, new images revealed Tuesday, with swathes of the country smothered in grey dust or damaged by a tsunami.

Activision Blizzard: Troubled powerhouse in gaming world

Activision Blizzard is a star developer of gaming hits like "Call of Duty", but the firm has been roiled by serious sex discrimination allegations that have led to lawsuits, firings and official scrutiny.

Page to lead Wales World Cup bid after Giggs court case delayed

Wales manager Ryan Giggs's trial on charges of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her sister has been delayed until August because of a courts backlog, meaning Robert Page is set to lead the side in March's World Cup play-offs.

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