JAKARTA – Indonesia could “wipe out” paedophilia with its new policy of chemical castration, President Joko Widodo has told the BBC. He said Indonesia respected human rights but there would be “no compromise” when it came to punishing such sexual crimes. Indonesia passed controversial laws earlier this month authorising chemical castration for paedophiles. The laws…
NEW YORK – Melania Trump has insisted that her husband is a “gentleman” and that the women who allege that he sexually assaulted them are lying. She also said that lewd comments Donald Trump made about women that were caught on videotape were unacceptable but did not represent the man she knows. The Republican presidential…
PORT AU PRINCE – The death toll in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew – the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade – has soared to more than 300, officials say. Some 50 people were reported killed in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone. The nearby city of Jeremie saw 80% of its buildings…
HARARE – “Part of the beauty of me is that I’m very rich,” Donald Trump once said, but according to Forbes magazine he’s much less rich than a year ago. The business magazine has reappraised the Republican White House hopeful’s personal wealth and found it has haemorrhaged $800m since 2015. Forbes now estimates the real…
ALEPPO – The US ambassador to the UN has accused Russia of “barbarism” over the bombing of the Syrian city of Aleppo. At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Samantha Power said Russia had told the council outright lies about its conduct in Syria. She said Russia and the Syrian regime were “laying…
NEW YORK – New York’s attorney general says he is investigating Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s foundation over suspected “impropriety”. Eric Schneiderman said his office wanted to ensure the foundation is “complying with the laws that govern charities in New York”. The Trump Foundation has been hit by a number of damaging media stories. Mr…
RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s Senate has voted to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office for manipulating the budget. It puts an end to the 13 years in power of her left-wing Workers’ Party. Ms Rousseff had denied the charges. Sixty-one senators voted in favour of her dismissal and 20 against, meeting the two-thirds majority…
RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s suspended President Dilma Rousseff has defended her record during her impeachment trial in the Senate. She is accused of illegally manipulating the budget to hide a growing deficit. Ms Rousseff said her conscience was “absolutely clean” and that she had not committed any crime. Senators are due to vote later…
ROME – The death toll in the Italian earthquake has risen to at least 247 as thousands of rescuers continue efforts to find survivors. Dozens are believed trapped in ruined Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto, in mountainous central Italy. The search went on through the night, and there was a strong aftershock which rocked…
ROME – A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck central Italy, leaving at least 37 people dead and 150 missing, as rescuers search for survivors. Many of the dead were in the village of Pescara del Tronto which was levelled to the ground and there were fears the number of casualties could rise. Much of the…
