KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) -- A North Korean man is likely to face money-laundering charges in the United States after a Malaysian court approved his extradition Friday, in a case his lawyers claim is politically motivated. Mun Chol -myong has denied FBI claims that he led a criminal group that violated sanctions by supplying luxury goods to his isolated homeland and laundered funds through front companies. The 54-year-old, who has lived in Malaysia with his family for a decade, was arrested in May foll

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The Federal Reserve kept its key lending rate unchanged on Wednesday but said it will turn its sights to low inflation and developments in the world economy.That was a signal that central bankers, who have repeatedly pledged to change course if needed, are monitoring the global slowdown and persistent absence of price pressures, which could open the door to further rate moves.At its final meeting of 2019, the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee left the benchma

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- The United States on Wednesday warned North Korea of consequences if it makes good on threats of a spectacular weapons test in the New Year, while offering flexibility if it stays in talks.Frustrated by the lack of sanctions relief after three summits with President Donald Trump, North Korea has vowed an ominous "Christmas gift" if the US does not come up with concessions by the end of the year.At the UN Security Council, the US ambassador, Kelly Craft, voiced c

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole has agreed to a record-setting nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees, US media reported Tuesday.Yahoo Sports, USA Today and MLB.com cited sources at the Major League Baseball owners' meetings in San Diego in reporting the deal, which was not immediately confirmed. Cole, 29, was widely considered the top free agent pitcher available this season after becoming a star with the Houston Astros.His reported deal comes just a da

JERSEY CITY (AFP) -- Six people including a police officer and two suspects were killed during an hours-long shootout across a New York suburb not far from the Statue of Liberty, local officials said."Our officers were under fire for hours," Jersey City Police Chief Michael Kelly told reporters after the latest high-profile US shooting.In addition to the officer and the suspects, three civilians were killed in the incident that began around midday at a cemetery and ended in a store, Ke

WHAKATANE (AFP) -- Tales of heroism, devastation and horrifying injuries emerged Tuesday after New Zealand's smouldering White Island volcano exploded, killing an estimated 13 people.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said five people had died and eight more were presumed dead after Monday's eruption, while dozens of injured had been airlifted to hospitals across the country.Among the 47 people caught on the island during the sudden eruption were tourists from Australia, the United States, Britain, C

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Tensions are quickly rising between the United States and North Korea, which has ramped up pressure as it demands concessions by President Donald Trump's administration by the end of the year.The United States called a UN Security Council meeting for Wednesday on North Korea's series of rocket launches, the latest return to antagonism as diplomacy languishes.Monday's announcement came two days after North Korea claimed to have carried out a "very important" but othe

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States on Monday called a UN Security Council meeting this week on the risk of North Korean "provocation" as Pyongyang demands US concessions by a year-end deadline.The United States, which holds this month's presidency of the Security Council, is scheduling the session instead of a planned meeting on human rights in North Korea, one of the world's most authoritarian states.This week's meeting will provide "a comprehensive update on recent developmen

HELSINKI (AFP) -- Finland's Social Democrats elected a 34-year-old former transport minister to the post of prime minister on Sunday, making her the youngest head of government in the country's history.Sanna Marin narrowly won Sunday's vote to replace outgoing leader Antti Rinne, who resigned on Tuesday after losing the confidence of the coalition partner Centre Party over his handling of a postal strike."We have a lot of work to do to rebuild trust," Marin told reporters on Sunday nig

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Democracy protesters took part in the largest mass rally through Hong Kong's streets in months on Sunday in a forceful display of support for the movement, with a leading activist warning the city's pro-Beijing leaders they had a "last chance" to end the political crisis.Organisers estimated some 800,000 people snaked for hours through the financial hub's main island as the protests marked six months, a vivid illustration of the hostility that still seethes towards t

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Rene Auberjonois, a prolific actor best known for his roles on the television shows "Benson'' and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and his part in the 1970 film "M.A.S.H.'' playing Father Mulcahy, has died. He was 79. The actor died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles of metastatic lung cancer, his son Remy-Luc Auberjonois told The Associated Press.Rene Auberjonois worked constantly as a character actor in several golden ages, from the dynamic theater of the 1960s t

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong democracy protesters are hoping for huge crowds later Sunday at a rally they have billed as a "last chance" for the city's pro-Beijing leaders in a major test for the six-month-old movement.The march comes two weeks after pro-establishment parties got a drubbing in local elections, shattering government claims that a "silent majority" opposed the protests.The semi-autonomous financial hub has been battered by increasingly violent demonstrations in

BEIJING (AFP) - China said on Friday it will offer a tariff waiver to "some" imports of US soybean and pork, in the latest sign of easing trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.The world's two biggest economies have exchanged blows for over a year, with tariffs now impacting hundreds of billions of dollars in two-way trade. The olive branch comes at a time when the two sides are edging towards a partial deal that includes a promise to increase the purchase of US farm produce.&qu

LONDON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron exchanged fire over the future of NATO on Tuesday, as the French leader attacked Turkey and demanded the alliance rethink its strategy. The three-way battle overshadowed the start of the alliance's 70th anniversary summit in London, threatening to derail efforts to show unity in the face of Russia and China.In recent weeks Macron has tried to shake up the agenda of the meeting by demanding a review of NATO's "brain dead" str

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Monday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in French goods in retaliation for a digital services tax it says is discriminatory.French sparkling wine, yogurt and Roquefort cheese are on the list of goods that could be targeted as soon as mid-January after a report from the US Trade Representative's office found the tax penalizes American tech companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon.The decision "sends a clear

PARIS (AFP) -- Lionel Messi won a record sixth men's Ballon d'Or award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, beating Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk to take the honours.Now aged 32, it is Messi's first Ballon d'Or since 2015 and his sixth overall as he moves one ahead of his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished third in the voting.Messi, who attended the ceremony at the Chatelet Theatre in the French capital with his wife and children, succeeds Luka Modric, the Real Madrid and Croatia midfie

PARIS (AFP) -- Lionel Messi and USA women's World Cup superstar Megan Rapinoe are tipped to leave Paris later on Monday with the 2019 Ballon d'Or awards.It would be an enormous shock if Rapinoe did not depart the Chatelet Theatre with the women's prize as she returns to the country where she was the driving force on and off the field for the United States as they retained their title.The suspense surrounds the identity of the men's winner, 12 months after Croatia's Luka Modric claimed the crown

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump's attorney said on Sunday that the White House will not participate in congressional hearings set to begin this week that will consider passing impeachment articles against the president."We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the President a fair process through additional hearings," White House counsel Pat Cip

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Police fired tear gas and pepper spray in Hong Kong on Sunday as tens of thousands of black-clad protesters flooded into the streets, a week after pro-democracy candidates scored a landslide local election victory.The rally heralded an end to a rare lull and a return to the large-scale demonstrations that Hong Kongers have staged for nearly six months, fuelled by growing fears that authoritarian China is stamping out the city's liberties.It also marked a resumption of the incr

LONDON (AFP) -- British police on Sunday named the two victims who died in the London Bridge terror attack, as their families paid glowing tributes to the pair.Jack Merritt, 25, from Cambridgeshire in eastern England, and 23-year-old Saskia Jones of Warwickshire in the West Midlands, were both killed by convicted terrorist Usman Khan during his rampage Friday, the Metropolitan Police said.Merritt, a course coordinator at Cambridge University's criminology institute, and Jones, a volunteer, died