LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May, due in Tokyo on Wednesday, is "outraged" by North Korea firing a ballistic missile over Japan, her Downing Street office said."The prime minister is outraged by North Korea's reckless provocation and she strongly condemns these illegal tests," a spokeswoman said Tuesday."From our perspective, we are willing to continue to work with our international partners to keep the pressure on North Korea."Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, multiple governments said, in a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions.No North Korean missile had overflown Japan for years, and the launch came after a strained period on the peninsula following Pyongyang's testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month that appeared to bring much of the US mainland within reach.It threatened to fire a salvo of mi

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday said North Korea's launch of a missile over its territory was an "unprecedented, serious and grave threat" as he called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.Abe vowed to enhance pressure on the nuclear-armed state as tensions spike over Pyongyang's weapons development ambitions."Their outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security," he told repor

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres held talks with Israeli leaders Monday on his first visit since taking office, making a forceful argument for a two-state solution with the Palestinians and speaking of his "dream" for peace.Guterres also spoke of what he called obstacles to peace when meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including Israeli settlement building and the need for Palestinian leaders to condemn "terrorism"."I dream that I will have the chance to s

North Korea has cancelled this year's Wonsan Air Show, travel agents said Monday, with reports suggesting tightened travel restrictions by several countries due to nuclear tensions with Pyongyang could be behind the move.The first-ever Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival was held in September last year, attracting hundreds of foreigners as the isolated North showcased a line-up of civilian and military aircraft.The event had been planned to take place every two years, but North Korea sa

An Indian guru convicted of rape awaited sentencing Monday, with authorities ramping up security amid fears of fresh violence days after protests over his guilty verdict left 36 dead.Barbed-wire barriers were erected and residents warned to stay indoors in the northern city of Rohtak, where Ram Rahim Singh is being held and will be sentenced, while senior members of his sect were placed under detention as a precautionary measure. India's self-styled guru and spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Si

Looking like a furry brown pincushion, eight-month-old French bulldog "Dan Jiao" whimpers nervously as he waits for the end of a Chinese acupuncture session aimed at curing partial paralysis caused by a puppyhood injury."Dan Jiao" ("Egg Dumpling"), would obviously rather be chewing on a bone somewhere than sitting strapped against his will into a harness that resembles a medieval torture device, pricked by several long needles hooked up to a mild electric current. In this photograph taken on Aug

A pastor freed this month after more than two years' detention in a North Korean prison said Sunday that he likely owed his life to his Canadian citizenship. "If I'm just Korean, maybe they kill me," Korean-born pastor Hyeon-soo Lim told Canadian public network CBC. "I'm Canadian so they cannot, because they cannot kill the foreigners."Asked directly whether being Canadian had saved his life, the 63-year-old cleric replied, "I believe so." Freed pastor speaks at a church in the outskirts of Toro

PANCHKULA, India -- Hundreds of troops Saturday patrolled a northern Indian city hit by deadly clashes that killed at least 30 people after thousands protested a court's decision to convict a controversial spiritual leader of rape.The army was deployed in Haryana state's Panchkula city after tens of thousands of followers of guru Ram Rahim Singh went on an angry rampage, attacking television vans and setting fire to dozens of private vehicles. Scorch marks from items set on fire are seen on a ro

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Friday signed a memo effectively barring transgender people from joining the US military, but left the fate of those already serving up to the Pentagon.In a widely anticipated move, Trump directed the military "to return to the longstanding policy and practice on military service by transgender individuals prior to June 2016" -- to go into effect from March 23, 2018.That means an effective ban on new openly transgender personnel and on payment for treatmen

NEW DELHI (AFP) - The death toll from floods sweeping South Asia has climbed above 1,000, officials said Thursday, as rescue teams try to reach millions stranded by the region's worst monsoon disaster in recent years.Thousands of soldiers and emergency personnel have been deployed across India, Bangladesh and Nepal, where authorities say a total of 1,013 bodies have been recovered since August 10 when intense rainfall started falling.All three countries suffer frequent flooding during the monsoo

HONG KONG, (AFP) - Typhoon Hato left three dead in the gambling hub of Macau Wednesday as it brought chaos and destruction to the enclave after sweeping through neighboring Hong Kong, where one man also died.Local media showed severe flooding had left cars underwater and people swimming in Macau's city streets, with the territory's mega-casinos running on back-up generators. Three men aged 30 to 65 died, the Macau government said, while two people were missing. One of the men died after being in

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday his aggressive rhetoric towards North Korea was beginning to bear fruit and that Kim Jong-Un had started to "respect" the United States. "Some people said it was too strong. It's not strong enough," he told a gathering of thousands of supporters at a campaign style rally in Phoenix, Arizona. "But Kim Jong-Un, I respect the fact that I believe he is starting to respect us. I respect that fact very much." (Yonhap)"And maybe, probably not, but maybe something

Divers searching for 10 missing sailors on a US destroyer that collided with a tanker off Singapore have found human remains, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet said Tuesday.   The US Navy has announced a fleet-wide global investigation following the latest deadly warship collision, the second in two months.   "The divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search today," Admiral Scott Swift told reporters, referring to a search by divers of compartments

Thousands of supporters of three jailed young democracy activists took to the streets in Hong Kong Sunday to protest their sentences.Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement rallies, were sentenced to six to eight months in jail Thursday for their role in a protest that sparked the months-long demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. Hong Kong people march through the streets wearing prison uniforms as a statement in support of imprisoned student politic

North Korea warned Sunday that the United States will be "pouring gasoline on fire" by conducting an annual war game in the South next week amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.Combative rhetoric between the nations spiked after Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month that appeared to bring much of the US within range, sparking an intense warning by President Donald Trump that Washington could rain "fire and fury" on the North. Anti-USA propaganda

A South Korean man accused of duping over 20 Thai women into forced prostitution in his home country has been arrested in Bangkok, an officer said Saturday.The suspect surnamed Kim, 39, is believed to be part of a transnational gang funnelling Thai women into the sex trade in South Korea, and his arrest follows efforts by Bangkok and Seoul to dismantle the group.Thai police said Kim promised women jobs as masseuses in South Korea. Tourists take a selfie with a mobile phone as they visit Wat Arun

BARCELONA (AFP) - Suspects in Spain's twin terror attacks had been planning an even bigger assault than the deadly car rampages they carried out, police said, as distressing details emerged of families torn apart in the horror.A 35-year-old Italian was among 14 killed, mowed down in front of his wife and young children in Barcelona when a driver rammed his van through crowds on the busy Las Ramblas boulevard on Thursday, before fleeing on foot.Police said they shot dead five "suspected terrorist

BARCELONA - Drivers have ploughed into pedestrians in two quick-succession, separate attacks in Barcelona and another popular Spanish seaside city, leaving 13 people dead and injuring more than 100 others.In the first incident, which was claimed by the Islamic State group, a white van sped into a street packed full of tourists in central Barcelona on Thursday afternoon, knocking people out of the way and killing 13 in a scene of chaos and horror.Some eight hours later in Cambrils, a city 120 kil

Spanish police warned early Friday that agents had been deployed to a city south of Barcelona to counter a "possible terrorist attack," just hours after a van mowed into pedestrians killing 13 people in the popular seaside city.Police in the Spanish region of Catalonia tweeted that a "police operation" was taking place in Cambrils some 120 kilometres south of Barcelona and tweeted asking people to "stay home, stay safe". (AFP)