In the upscale Los Angeles community known as the "Black Beverly Hills" where Meghan Markle's mother lives, the neighbors are delighting in the frenzy around the upcoming Royal Wedding. "This has probably been the number one topic for a long time in this neighborhood," Windsor Hills resident Earl Hutchinson, an author specializing in African American rights and history, tells AFP. In this file photo taken on December 01, 201

China's first domestically manufactured aircraft carrier started sea trials on Sunday, state media said, as the country prepares to add a second such warship to its naval fleet.The carrier, known only as "Type 001A", set out for the trials on Sunday morning, according to official news agency Xinhua, while state broadcaster CCTV said the ship left a port in northeastern China around 6.45 am (2245 GMT Saturday).Expected to be commissioned by 2020, the ship will give China a second aircraft carrier

A knifeman shouting "Allahu akbar" was shot dead by police in central Paris late Saturday after he killed one person and injured four, prompting a terror probe.The attack took place near the city's main opera house in an area full of bars, restaurants and theatres which were brimming on a weekend night.French President Emmanuel Macron said: "France once again pays the price of blood."Saturday's assault is the latest to strike a nation rocked by a series of jihadist attacks in the last three year

US President Donald Trump will greet three Americans released by North Korea at an airbase near Washington Thursday, underscoring a much needed diplomatic win and a stepping stone to a historic summit with Kim Jong-un.Trump will make the short helicopter ride from the White House to Joint Base Andrews to meet Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul in person, after their release on from North Korea on Wednesday.The North Korean regime granted the three men "amnesty," a US official said, removin

Three Korean-Americans held by nuclear-armed North Korea are expected to be released Wednesday during a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.Despite years of hostility between Washington and Pyongyang, hundreds of Americans visited North Korea every year until the US State Department finally issued a travel ban on the country last September.Americans made the journey to North Korea for a range of reasons, from holidays and business trips to humanitarian work and missionary purposes.Seoul i

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he had been formally invited to visit China and would do so at “an appropriate time”, as the regional powers try to warm ties.Chinese premier Li Keqiang is in Tokyo for talks on North Korea and bilateral ties, a month after the two Asian rivals pledged a “new starting point” for relations. (AFP-Yonhap)“As we mark the 40th anniversary of the Japan-China peace and friendship treaty this year, I wish to build a relationship where leaders can easily v

MOSCOW -- Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia’s president for a fourth term on Monday, extending his almost two-decade rule by another six years at a time of high tension with his Western rivals.The 65-year-old, in power since 1999, is on course to become the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin after his victory in March elections.Putin won nearly 77 percent of the vote in polls in which his most vocal opponent, Alexei Navalny, was banned from running. He has promised to use his

TRIPOLI (AFP) -- A suicide attack on Libya’s electoral commission killed at least 11 people in the capital Tripoli on Wednesday, authorities in the violence-wracked country said, after witnesses reported thick smoke and gunfire.The internationally backed Government of National Accord said it was dealing with “the consequences of the cowardly suicide attack” after the health ministry put the toll at 11 dead and two wounded.  The site of suicide attack on Libyan electoral commission is seen in Tri

Iran on Saturday welcomed steps towards detente between North and South Korea but warned that the United States was unqualified to play a role since it did not "respect its commitments."The foreign ministry said the meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in was "a responsible and effective step towards regional and global stability."But ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the "historic new page for detente on the Korean peninsula" should be worked o

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told the South's President Moon Jae-in on Friday he was willing to visit him in Seoul "any time if you invite me", Moon's spokesman said.Kim made the remarks as the pair chatted ahead of their summit in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Koreas, the official said.According to the official, Moon told the visitor he could "show you scenes far better than this if you come to the Blue House", with Kim responding: "Really? I will go to the Blue House any time if y

Daisies for peace, an oval table exactly 2,018 millimetres wide and a huge picture of a mountain representing inter-Korean reconciliation: the room hosting historic talks between the leaders of North and South Korea dripped with symbolism.As camera shutters clicked furiously, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in, flanked by their trusted advisers, took their seats at the oval walnut table that was supposed to enable "frank talks without any feeling of distance", according to host officials. South Korean

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "flooded with emotion" as he walked into the neighbouring South, he told his host Moon Jae-in as they began the first inter-Korean summit for more than a decade.Walking across the cement blocks that mark the border was "so easy," Kim said, making him wonder "why it took so long to do so after 11 years," referring to the last summit in Pyongyang in 2007.Kim is the first North Korean leader to set foot on the South's territory since the 1950-53 Korean War ended

When the leaders of North and South Korea reached across the Military Demarcation Line to shake hands on Friday, they symbolically -- if fleetingly -- united a peninsula that has been divided for decades.The handshake between the two leaders marked the latest milestone in a rapid rapprochement after months of global fears about a nuclear conflict.Here are some other handshakes that shook the world:(Yonhap)- Arafat-Rabin, 1993 -After months of secret negotiations in Norway, Israeli Prime Minister

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South's President Moon Jae-in shook hands Friday over the Military Demarcation Line that divides their countries in a gesture laden with symbolism ahead of a historic summit."I am happy to meet you," Moon told Kim before the visitor stepped over the line, making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the Korean War ended in an armistice 65 years ago.The two men briefly stepped back over the line into the North before walking to th

US President Donald Trump and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron called for a "new" deal with Iran Tuesday, looking beyond divisions over a landmark nuclear accord that still hangs in the balance.Trump laid transatlantic divisions bare during a visit by the French president, pillorying a three-year old agreement designed to curb Iran's nuclear program.The US leader described the deal as "insane" and "ridiculous," despite European pleas for him not to walk away.US President Donald Trump and Frenc

US President Donald Trump praised Kim Jong-un as "very open" and "very honorable" on Tuesday, adding the North Korean leader wants to meet "as soon as possible.""We are having very good discussions," Trump said, ahead of a summit with the mercurial Kim expected sometime before the end of June."He really has been very open, I think -- very honorable." A photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, shows a meeting of the Political Bureau of t

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on North Korea to abandon its nuclear program, ahead of an expected summit with the North's leader Kim Jong-un.Earlier, the US leader -- who spent the day in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron -- had described Kim as "very open" and "very honorable" -- his most positive comments yet about a man he once publicly belittled.But when pressed about what he hoped to gain from Pyongyang, the 71-year-old Republican president was blunt.US President Don

Avicii, one of the world's most successful DJs who helped usher in the global boom in electronic music but struggled to cope with the hard-partying lifestyle, died Friday in Oman, his representative said. He was 28.Two years after his unusually early retirement from touring, the Swedish DJ was found dead in the Gulf sultanate's capital Muscat.“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” his management said in a statement, without specifying the ca

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera (AFP)Japan is not satisfied with North Korea’s pledge to halt nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, its defence minister said on Saturday, warning that Tokyo will continue to put maximum pressure on Pyongyang.  “We can't be satisfied,” Itsunori Onodera told reporters in Washington, saying North Korea did not mention “abandonment of short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles.” (AFP)

 Syrian air defence shot down missiles over the central province of Homs, the state news agency said Tuesday, with the strikes reportedly targeting regime air bases.The news agency did not give further details and it was unclear who was behind the attack, which Syrian state television branded as an "aggression".Big explosions were heard near Al Shayrat Air base, southeast of the city of Homs, and in eastern Qalamoun near Damascus where two other air bases are located, the Syrian Observatory for