LA'BO, Indonesia (AFP) -- Martha Kande’s family lived with her graying, shriveled corpse at their home in Indonesia for seven months, as they prepared an elaborate funeral that is central to the Toraja people's centuries-old death rituals.“We keep the body in a coffin at home,” Meyske Latuihamallo, the 81-year-old woman’s granddaughter, told Agence France-Presse. “But it's kept open before they are buried because we see them as sick so they are brought food and drink every day.”Torajans -- an et

SEVRES, France (AFP) -- Sealed in a vault beneath a duke's former pleasure palace among the sycamore-streaked forests west of Paris sits an object the size of an apple that determines the weight of the world.Forged against a backdrop of scientific and political upheaval following the French Revolution, a single, small cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy has laid largely undisturbed for nearly 130 years as the world's benchmark for what, precisely, is a kilogramme.The international prototype of th

Akihiko Kondo's mother refused an invitation to her only son's wedding in Tokyo this month, but perhaps that isn't such a surprise: he was marrying a hologram."For mother, it wasn't something to celebrate," said the soft-spoken 35-year-old, whose "bride" is a virtual reality singer named Hatsune Miku.In fact, none of Kondo's relatives attended his wedding to Miku -- an animated 16-year-old with saucer eyes and lengthy aquamarine pigtails -- but that didn't stop him from spending two million yen

TOKYO -- Supporters of four South Koreans who served as wartime forced labourers for a Japanese firm visited its Tokyo headquarters Monday to demand court-ordered compensation.South Korea's highest court ruled last month that Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal pay the men 100 million won ($88,000) each for being forced to work at its steel mills between 1941 and 1943. Only one of the victims is still alive.Lawyers for the men -- accompanied by supporters -- went to the company's Tokyo headquarters to

US President Donald Trump, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and dozens of other world leaders joined France's Emmanuel Macron in commemorating the centenary of the end of World War I in a solemn ceremony in Paris on Sunday.The ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe war memorial on the Champs-Elysees marked the culmination of events for the 100th anniversary of the end of the four-year onflict which claimed 18 million lives.Macron led dozens of heads of state and government including G

An exchange of fire erupted during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, leaving six Palestinians dead, officials said, while potentially dashing hopes that a recent agreement would restore calm.As tensions rose following the clash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would cut short his trip to Paris, where he had been attending World War I commemorations, and return home. The mother of Nour Baraka, a commander for Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Q

Firefighters in California on Saturday battled raging blazes at both ends of the state that have left at least nine people dead and thousands of homes destroyed, but there was little hope of containing the flames anytime soon.More than 250,000 people have been ordered to evacuate a wide area near the state capital Sacramento and, in southern California, the Hollywood resort town of Malibu. (AFP)So far, all nine fatalities were reported in the town of Paradise, in Butte County, where more than 6,

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) - The UN Security Council is expected to meet behind closed doors at Russia's request on Thursday to discuss sanctions imposed on North Korea, diplomats said.The request for consultations came just hours after President Donald Trump said he was in "no rush" to solve the crisis over North Korea's nuclear program.It was not immediately clear whether Russia was planning a new push to ease sanctions against North Korea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

An upbeat President Donald Trump on Wednesday promised a post-elections era of "love" in Washington, saying he can work with opposition Democrats in a newly divided Congress, yet warning the gloves could come back off at any time.In a first indication of how he confident he feels after Tuesday's legislative polls, Trump fired his attorney general, immediately raising questions over the integrity of a bombshell probe into whether Russia colluded with his 2016 presidential election campaign.But on

 The Central American migrants trekking toward the United States in a caravan have unwittingly become key players in Tuesday's US midterms, though many are not even aware the elections are happening.As Americans headed to the polls for a vote seen as a referendum on Donald Trump's presidency, it was just another day on the road for some 4,500 migrants camped out at a stadium-turned-shelter in Mexico City. (AFP)Having spent the night in the high-altitude chill of the Mexican capital, they made sm

The United States said Tuesday it would exempt Iran's Indian-backed port of Chabahar from new sanctions on Tehran, recognizing the value of the project to Afghanistan.Iran late last year inaugurated the port on the Indian Ocean which provides a key supply route to landlocked Afghanistan and allows India to bypass its historic enemy Pakistan.(IRANIAN PRESIDENCY/AFP)The United States will exempt from sanctions the development of Chabahar along with an attached railway project and Iranian petroleum

As one of the world's richest men and most active philanthropists, Bill Gates usually has his hands full. Just not with poop.So it came as a surprise when the founder of Microsoft brandished a jar of human waste at a forum on the future of the toilet in Beijing on Tuesday.The stunt was an effort to draw attention to a problem affecting developing countries around the world: not enough toilets. Microsoft founder Bill Gates talks next to a container with human feces, a stunt to draw attention to t

"Single-use" was named the Collins Dictionary word of the year on Wednesday, following a four-fold increase in usage since 2013 in a reflection of increased concerns about sustainability.It edged out "MeToo" and "whitewash" to top the list of 10 new and notable words that "reflect an ever-evolving culture and the preoccupations of those who use it", Collins said. (Agence France-Presse London)The wider 10 words of the year include ones inspired by Brexit, environmental concerns and the 2018 footb

COLOMBO, Nov 5, 2018 (AFP) - Thousands of supporters of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse headed for the capital on Monday to rally in support of his controversial nomination as prime minister, as the island’s constitutional crisis deepened.Sri Lanka has been gripped by political turmoil since President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his former ally, prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, on October 26 and appointed Rajapakse in his place.Busloads of Rajapakse followers were arriving Mond

TEHRAN, Nov  5, 2018 (AFP) - The latest round of US sanctions on Iran’s vital oil industry may have just started on Monday but some Iranians say they have already become a basic fact of life.“I don’t need the news to tell me that sanctions have started, I am feeling them in my bones,” said Farzad, a 65-year-old pensioner.“Anyone who goes to the market to acquire their basic needs will feel the sanctions straight away,” he told AFP as headed to the Tajrish bazaar in northern Tehran for his weekly

ISTANBUL, Nov  5, 2018 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia sent two experts to Istanbul with the specific aim of covering up evidence after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its consulate in Istanbul, a Turkish official said on Monday.More than a month after the Saudi royal-insider-turned critic was killed inside the mission on October 2, Turkey has still yet to recover the remains amid claims that his body was dissolved in acid. The killing of the 59-year-old has severely dented the kingdom‘s image

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday kicks off a week of commemorations for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, which is set to mix remembrance of the past and warnings about the present surge in nationalism around the globe.Some 70 to 80 world leaders including US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are preparing to fly to the French capital next weekend for a ceremony marking a century since the guns fell silent.This Sunday, German President Fra

Donald Trump and his Democratic rivals made frenzied, final pushes to motivate their core voters Sunday ahead of contentious midterm elections seen as a referendum on the president's divisive first two years in office.Both sides say voter turnout will be key.Trump was on a hectic schedule of campaign appearances for Republican candidates 48 hours before Americans deliver their verdict at the ballot box, while former president Barack Obama made a last-ditch appeal for an endangered Senate Democra

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel was due in Pyongyang on Sunday, North Korea's state media reported, describing the visit as a "historic event" highlighting the "invincible friendship" of the two allies.The visit comes amid stalled talks between North Korea and the United States and only days after Washington imposed fresh economic restrictions on Cuba.Washington's ties with Havana were fully restored in 2015 after more than half a century of enmity, but have deteriorated since President Donald

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told a visiting delegation of seven US Republican lawmakers on Thursday that he hoped their two countries can meet "halfway" amid friction over trade, security and other issues. (Yonhap)Relations between Washington and Beijing have grown tense since US President Donald Trump activated new tariffs on roughly half of Chinese imports this summer while Beijing fired back with tariffs on most US products.Some of the US lawmakers attending the meeting with Li in China's lead