TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan said Tuesday it had asked Hong Kong for help in collecting a murder suspect who has agreed to return to the island to face trial for killing his girlfriend in a case which inadvertently triggered massive democracy protests.The surprise announcement came just hours after Taipei had said it was Hong Kong's responsibility to put him on trial.Chan Tong-kai, 20, is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend during a holiday the two Hong Kongers took there in Febr

LONDON (AFP) -- European Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday he will recommend EU leaders grant another Brexit extension, hours after British MPs rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's bid to force his divorce deal through parliament this week.Tusk said he would advise the bloc's 27 other member states to accept a postponement request from the UK government, which Johnson was forced to submit Saturday under British law after he had failed to win lawmakers' backing for his new agreement.H

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's new Emperor Naruhito on Tuesday completed his ascension to the ancient Chrysanthemum throne in a solemn, ritual-bound ceremony performed before hundreds of dignitaries in the Imperial Palace."I hereby declare my enthronement at home and abroad," Naruhito said from inside an elaborately adorned structure housing his throne, with his wife Empress Masako alongside him standing before her own throne.A powerful typhoon that hit Japan earlier this month, killing dozens

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States was awarded ownership of a North Korean cargo ship that was seized for violating international sanctions, the US Justice Department said.The Wise Honest -- the first North Korean vessel to be seized by the US for sanctions violation -- was caught carrying a $3 million shipment of coal in Indonesian waters last year and later handed over to the US.The latest ruling by the Southern District of New York finalises the US government's seizure of the North Korean

SANTIAGO (AFP) -- Chile ordered an overnight curfew on Monday for the third day in a row as violent protests and looting that left 11 people dead over the weekend raged on into the working week.Protests originally against a hike in metro fares have turned into anger at the military and President Sebastian Pinera, who on Monday night proposed a "social agreement" to meet the demands of demonstrators.Army general Javier Iturriaga, charged with security in the capital, said the 8:00 pm to

BELFAST (AFP) -- Same-sex marriage and abortion laws in Northern Ireland were liberalised on Monday in a landmark shift for the province aimed at bringing it into line with mainland Britain but which has stoked resentment.The relaxtion of the UK-ruled territory's restrictive laws on the issues occurred at midnight (2300 GMT), after a deadline elapsed for local lawmakers to stop the changes imposed by MPs in Westminster. British lawmakers in July approved decriminalising abortion and creating law

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's defence minister made an uncompromising call Monday for the "reunification" of Taiwan with the mainland, telling a high level defence forum that the process was something "no force"  could stop.Self-ruled Taiwan is viewed by China as a renegade province which will eventually be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary, after the two sides split in 1949 after a civil war.China will not stop in its efforts towards "realising the comple

ANTWERP (AFP) -- Andy Murray won his first ATP title since March 2017 on Sunday with a battling 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over fellow three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the Antwerp final.Former world number one Murray, rebuilding his game after career-saving hip surgery earlier this year, fought back from a set and 3-1 down against Wawrinka to claim his 46th career title."It means a lot. The last few years have been extremely difficult," Murray, who broke down in tears at the

LONDON (AFP) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reluctantly wrote to Brussels asking for a Brexit extension after MPs voted Saturday to force him into seeking a delay beyond October 31.But Johnson, who has pinned his premiership on getting Britain out of the European Union on time, refused to sign the letter he sent to European Council President Donald Tusk. The Conservative leader, who had to send the letter to abide by the law, also sent a second signed letter insisting he was not seeking

TOKYO (AFP) -- Japan's new Emperor Naruhito will formally proclaim his ascension to the throne next week in a ritual-bound ceremony, but the after-effects of deadly typhoon will cast a shadow over proceedings.Naruhito officially assumed his duties as emperor on May 1, a day after his father became the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in 200 years.But the transition will not be complete until his new role is officially proclaimed on Tuesday, in a series of events expected to be attended by fore

MEXICO CITY (AFP) -- Mexican security forces on Thursday arrested one son of jailed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in an operation that triggered fighting in the western city of Culiacan, Security Minister Alfonso Durazo said. Ovidio Guzman is one of the sons who have assumed control of part of the notorious cartel run by their father until he was extradited to the United States in 2017. (AFP)

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- European Union leaders endorsed a hard-fought Brexit deal with Britain on Thursday, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces an uphill battle getting it through the British parliament."It looks like we are very close to the final stretch," EU Council President Donald Tusk told reporters after the other 27 leaders approved the accord.But despite optimism from Johnson, British opposition parties and some of the prime minister's own allies in the House of Commons were quic

ANKARA (AFP) -- Turkey has agreed to suspend its Syria offensive for five days and will end the assault if Kurdish-led forces withdraw from a safe zone along the border, US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish officials announced Thursday after high-stakes talks.The agreement for the 120-hour pause eased what had escalated into an unprecedented crisis between the United States and Turkey, but critics quickly accused President Donald Trump of again abandoning Kurdish allies.Under the deal reache

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Thursday hailed the last-minute Brexit deal struck with Britain ahead of a crunch summit as a reasonable compromise that protects European interests. "We have reached an agreement that is fair and reasonable and corresponds to our principles," Barnier told reporters, but urged caution as the deal must still be passed by the British parliament -- which has rejected a Brexit deal three times before.Prime Minister Boris Johnson will take the acc

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed for Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to secure a ceasefire in the Turkish invasion of northern Syria."Our mission set is to see if we can get a ceasefire, see if we can get this brokered," Pompeo told reporters on his plane.Pence and Pompeo, who travelled on different planes, were scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but Erdogan has said he will not meet

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The partial trade bargain struck last week with China is now being formally put down in writing, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday."It hasn't been papered yet but it is being papered," Trump told reporters at the White House.He insisted that China had already bought $40 to $50 million worth of American agriculture products last week.He reiterated that China committed to greater purchases of US farm exports, and made concessions because of economic pressure by

TOKYO (AFP) -- A Japanese minister on Thursday visited the Yasukuni war shrine at the centre of long-running tensions with regional neighbours -- the first cabinet-level official visit in over two years.Seiichi Eto, the minister in charge of Okinawa and what Japan calls "the Northern Territories" disputed with Russia, visited the shrine at the start of its annual autumn festival, an official at Eto's office told AFP.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meanwhile continued his recent practice of s

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Japan's SoftBank Group has prepared a financing plan that would give it control of WeWork as the office sharing startup seeks badly- needed financing, sources told AFP Monday.The plan would give SoftBank, which is controled by billionaire Masayoshi Son, more than 50 percent of WeWork and further limit the influence of former chief executive and co-founder Adam Neumann, said sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.Neumann stepped down as chief executive in September amid

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill sought by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong that aims to defend civil rights in the semi-autonomous territory.The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which will now move to a similar vote in the Senate before it can become law, has drawn rare bipartisan support in a polarized Congress.Its passage is likely to further aggravate China which has accused "external forces" of fuelling weeks of unrest in t

ISTANBUL (AFP) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed a US proposal to broker a ceasefire in northern Syria and said he was not worried over US sanctions, in comments published in Turkish media Wednesday.He also said the Syrian army's entry into the flashpoint northern Syrian city of Manbij was not a "very negative" development for his country as long as the region is cleared of Syrian Kurdish fighters."They tell us 'to declare a ceasefire'. We can never declare a cea