The United States swiftly condemned Thursday's deadly attack in Barcelona and offered assistance to authorities in Spain.President Donald Trump, who remained out of public view for a second straight day, denounced what authorities are calling a terror attack in a statement on Twitter. "The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!'' the president said. (Twitter)Trump is on a working vacation at his pri

BARCELONA - A van driver ploughed into crowds of pedestrians on Barcelona's most popular street in broad daylight on Thursday, killing 13 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.Police announced the arrest of two suspects, identified as a Spaniard and a Moroccan, but said the driver was still on the run. People are escorted by Spanish policemen outside a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13 persons and injuring over 80 on the Rambla in Barcelo

Spanish police said they had shot dead "four suspected terrorists" and left another injured early Friday in Cambrils, a city south of Barcelona where a van mowed into pedestrians on Thursday, killing 13 people.The regional government of Catalonia, where both Barcelona and Cambrils are located, also confirmed the incident, which police had earlier qualified as a "possible terrorist attack." (AFP) Spanish policemen stand guard in a cordoned off area after a van ploughed into the crowd, killing 13

SHANGHAI -- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Thursday its net profit almost doubled in the latest quarter on the back of solid revenue growth in its core shopping business and in cloud computing.Alibaba, which has made billionaire founder Jack Ma one of China's richest men and a global e-commerce icon, has seen its New York-listed shares soar 80 percent since last December on perennially robust earnings.(www.alibabagroup.com)With those shares at all-time highs, the company's market worth ha

HAGATNA, Guam -- Guam's leader said Monday that "sometimes a bully can only be stopped with a punch in the nose", in a spirited defence of President Donald Trump's rhetoric against North Korea which has the island in its crosshairs.While Trump's critics accuse him of inflaming tensions with Pyongyang, Guam governor Eddie Calvo said he was grateful the US leader was taking a strong stance against North Korean threats against his Pacific homeland. "Everyone who grew up in the schoolyard in element

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka weighed in Sunday on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia with an appeal for unity, saying there was "no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis."A woman was killed and 19 injured in the university town Saturday when a car plowed into a crowd after a white nationalist protest rally turned violent.Trump, who has a following among white supremacist groups attracted to his nationalistic rhetoric, has come under

GENEVA (AFP) -- A UN commission probing Syria rights abuses has gathered enough evidence to convict President Bashar al-Assad of war crimes, an outgoing member of the commission said in interviews published Sunday.Veteran former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, who is preparing to step down after five years serving in the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told Swiss media the evidence against Assad was sufficient to secure a war crimes conviction."I am convinced of that," she told Le Mati

KABUL (AFP) -- Several senior Islamic State group members in Afghanistan -- including a provincial leader -- have been killed in a United States air strike, an official said Sunday.General John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said Thursday's strike killed Abdul Rahman, who he claimed was a provincial leader in IS's Afghanistan branch, known as IS-Khorasan Province.Rahman's death comes a month after US forces killed Abu Sayed, the head of IS-K. That marked the third time in a ye

HAGATNA, Guam (AFP) -- The Catholic faithful in Guam led prayers for peace Sunday in the shadow of North Korean missile threat, with the western Pacific island's archbishop appealing for "prudence" amid an escalating war of words between the US and Pyongyang.The largely Catholic territory should pray for a "just resolution of differences, and prudence in both speech and action", said Archbishop Michael Byrnes, echoing a flurry of international calls for US President Donald Trump to show greater

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart pledged Saturday to work to denuclearize North Korea, but Trump again invoked the grim possibility of "military measures" if other steps should fail.Trump's latest warning came amid a flurry of international calls -- from China, the North's key ally, as well as Russia, Germany, Britain and the United Nations -- for the president to show greater rhetorical restraint.A White House statement said Trump and French President Emm

In many ways the two leaders on either side of North Korea-United States missile stand-off could not be more different. In others they are startlingly similar.　North Korea’s Kim Jong-un has just overseen his second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, bringing much of the US mainland within reach and presenting US President Donald Trump with a crisis.　But while Pyongyang has long issued bellicose threats of nuclear war, this time it is the leader of the United States of America who is

JAKARTA -- A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit off the Indonesian island Sumatra on Sunday but there was no tsunami risk, seismologists said as panicked residents fled their homes.The quake hit at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) at 10:08 am (0308 GMT) 73 kilometres west of Bengkulu, according to the United States Geological Survey."The earthquake was quite strong and shallow, it was felt all the way to Padang, West Sumatra, but there was no threat of a tsunami," Mochammad Riyadi, an offici

WASHINGTON -- The United States demanded that North Korea “must stop its provocative and escalatory behavior” early Saturday after President Donald Trump stepped up his warnings against Pyongyang and spoke with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping by phone.Meanwhile, US military forces “stand ready” to safeguard Guam after the North threatened to fire ballistic missiles toward the American Pacific island territory, the White House said.US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a workfor

Pop superstar Taylor Swift was in court on Monday as trial began in a case pitting her against a DJ accused of groping her at an event.Eight jurors were selected Monday with Swift looking on in the courtroom, a court employee confirmed to AFP. According to local media, she sat with her lawyers, dressed in a light top and dark blazer.Swift, 27, could take the stand to give details of the alleged assault during a meet and greet four years ago. Tree Paine, publicist for pop singer Taylor Swift, wal

 Five people were hurt at Istanbul airport in a brawl between knife-wielding employees of two rival coach operators, the Dogan news agency reported Sunday.   The fight broke out overnight Saturday at Sabiha Gokcen international airport involving around 40 people following mutual accusations of the firms "stealing one another's customers," said the agency.   Airport security police had to step in to separate the two sides.   At least five people who suffered minor knife wounds had to be hospitali

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani warned the US against tearing up the nuclear deal as he was inaugurated for a second term Saturday, but he also faces challenges closer to home amid accusations he is rolling over to conservatives.Rouhani met with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini before the ceremony and called for greater efforts to safeguard the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in the face of new US sanctions."Iran will not be the first to violate the nuclear deal... bu

Chinese cities had fewer "good air" days in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year despite government efforts to curb incessant smog, according to official data.China has vowed to target coal-burning and vehicle emissions, increase investment in clean energy and punish polluters in a bid to improve the air quality of the world's second largest economy.But the measures had yet to bear fruit in the six months of the year. (AFP-Yonhap)The Ministry of Environmental Protection's

Salvador Dali's remains are to be exhumed on Thursday from his Spanish hometown in an effort to test a fortune teller's claims the renowned surrealist is her father.The artist's body is buried in the elaborate museum of his work Dali designed himself in the northeastern Spanish town of Figueres, where he was born over 110 years ago.Pilar Abel, a 61-year-old who long worked as a psychic in Catalonia, says her mother had a relationship with the artist when she worked in Port Lligat, a tiny fishing

Despite a push to quickly slap new UN sanctions on North Korea, the United States is bogged down in “slow-going” negotiations with China on a response to Pyongyang's first ICBM launch, diplomats said Wednesday.US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council two weeks ago that she would present “in the coming days” a draft sanctions resolution to confront what she described as a “clear and sharp military escalation.”The United States promptly opened negotiations with China, North Korea's main

Britain's public broadcaster BBC came under fire on Wednesday for its gender pay imbalance after it was forced to reveal how much it pays its top-earning talent.For the first time in its 94-year existence, the BBC was this year forced to release a list of its employees paid more than £150,000 (A$246,010) between 2016/2017, after a change in its charter last year.More than 200 names feature on the list -- which includes executives, actors, presenters, writers and technicians -- but only one third