JAKARTA, (APP/AFP) – Indonesian police briefly detained hundreds of pro-independence demonstrators in Papua on Tuesday, the latest round-up of protesters in the insurgency-hit eastern region. Police said demonstrators staged rallies calling for the release of political prisoners and for an organisation representing Papuan resistance groups to be given full membership of a regional trade and […]
International News
Indonesia detains protesters in insurgency-hit Papua
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Australia war dead repatriated from Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, (APP/AFP) – Half a century after they died, the bodies of 32 Australian soldiers and their dependents, many of whom were killed in the Vietnam War, were returned home from Malaysia Tuesday. In a sombre ceremony, their flag-draped coffins were loaded onto Australian airforce planes by a military guard of honour as a […]
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Top N. Korea official visits Beijing amid tensions: report
BEIJING, (APP/AFP) – A top North Korean official made an unexpected visit to China on Tuesday in an apparent attempt by Pyongyang to mend frayed ties with its powerful neighbour, Japanese media reported. Beijing is North Korea’s largest trading partner and has been its key diplomatic protector for decades, but ties have been strained recently […]
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Drowned migrant baby photo wake-up call for EU: NGO
BERLIN, (APP/AFP) – A photo of a dead migrant baby pulled from the Mediterranean was published by a charity hoping to force European leaders to grant migrants safe passage, after hundreds were presumed to have died at sea last week. The baby in the photograph was not identified, but the German non-governmental organisation Sea-Watch said […]
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ICoast’s ex-first lady on trial for crimes against humanity
ABIDJAN, (APP/AFP): Ivory Coast’s former first lady Simone Gbagbo goes on trial Tuesday for crimes against humanity, but rights groups acting as plaintiffs in the case have pulled out, blasting the proceedings as flawed. The wife of ex president Laurent Gbagbo has already been handed a 20-year jail sentence for “attacking state authority” over her […]
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Diamond-encrusted Hermes handbag sold for record $300,000
HONG KONG, (APP/AFP) – A diamond-encrusted crocodile-skin Hermes handbag with white gold details has broken the record for the world’s most expensive ever sold at auction, fetching nearly $300,000 at a Hong Kong sale. The rare Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Birkin 30 went to an unknown phone bidder late Monday for HK$2.32 million ($298,655), beating […]