EIJING -- China's trade surplus with the United States ballooned to a record $35.6 billion in November, official data showed Saturday, as exports across the Pacific remained strong despite a raft of US tariffs while imports shrank.Relations between the world's top two economies continue to be tense despite a trade war truce struck between US President Donald Trump and his counterpart President Xi Jinping last week.Trump and figures in his administration have said China would immediately start bu

CNN's New York offices were evacuated Thursday night after a bomb threat, but no explosive was found and police later gave the all clear, the network said.The roughly 90 minute drama recalled a similar evacuation in October after an explosive device was discovered at CNN's New York headquarters.Police stand outside the Time Warner Building on October 24, 2018, after an explosive device was delivered to CNN`s New York bureau. (AFP)Fire alarm bells rang inside the newsroom to signal an evacuation

The French government, under pressure from weeks of "yellow vest" protests over rising living costs, on Wednesday scrapped all planned fuel tax hikes for 2019 and appealed for calm.An increase scheduled for January 1, was "scrapped for the year 2019" in its entirety, Environment Minister Francois de Rugy announced on BFM TV, in an about-turn for the government.The presidency, meanwhile, warned of possible violence during a new round of protests planned for Saturday in Paris and elsewhere in the

A defiant Vladimir Putin on Wednesday threatened to develop nuclear missiles banned under a treaty with the United States after Washington gave Moscow a deadline to comply with the key arms control agreement.The latest spike in tensions came a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would withdraw from a major Cold War treaty limiting mid-range nuclear arms within 60 days if Russia does not dismantle missiles that the US claims breach the deal. Russian President Vladimir Puti

Two key US Republican senators said a Tuesday briefing by the CIA's director only strengthened their conviction that Saudi Arabia's crown prince directed the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.The explosive new declarations by members of President Donald Trump's own party run counter to the White House narrative downplaying possible links between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the October killing of journalist and palace critic Khashoggi at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate. CIA Director

SEOUL (AFP) - The coaches of South Korea‘s “Garlic Girls” curling team, who shot to fame by winning Olympic silver in February, resigned Tuesday after the athletes accused them of verbal abuse and exploitation.　Nicknamed for their small hometown -- which is famous for farming the pungent bulb -- they were rank outsiders at South Korea’s Pyeongchang Games, and became a media sensation as they swept their way to the tournament final.　But last month they publicly accused their coaches of verbal abu

KATOWICE, Poland -- The world is "way off course" in its plan to prevent catastrophic climate change, the United Nations warned Monday as nations gathered in Poland to chart a way for mankind to avert runaway global warming. After a string of damning scientific reports showing humanity must drastically slash its greenhouse gas emissions within the next decade, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told delegates at the opening of a UN climate summit: "We are still not doing enough, nor moving fa

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan -- Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Monday that the first manned Soyuz flight to the International Space Station since a failed launch in October was proceeding according to plan.The Soyuz was "successfully launched into orbit," Roscosmos wrote on Twitter.  (Yonhap)Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency launched for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station at the expected time o

The first manned space mission to the International Space Station since an unprecedented accident in October, which raised concerns about Moscow's Soviet-designed spacecraft, will launch on Monday.Oleg Kononenko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency brushed aside any possible safety concerns, saying risk was just part of the job.Anne McClain, Oleg Kononenko, and David Saint-Jacques say risk is just part of their job. (AFP

Beyonce was leading an all-star line-up including Ed Sheeran, Jay-Z and Usher in Johannesburg at a concert to honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela.The concert was the climax of a year of events celebrating the centennial of Mandela's birth in 1918, and part of a campaign to tackle poverty, child malnutrition and boost gender equality.This year's Global Citizen Festival is being held at Johannesburg's 94,736-capacity FNB stadium and began at 1200 GMT. Beyoncé Knowles and Jay Z, pictured w

After the starkest warnings yet of the catastrophic threat posed by climate change, nations gathered in Poland on Sunday to chart a way for mankind to avert runaway global warming.The COP24 climate summit comes at a crucial juncture in the battle to rein in the effects of our heating planet. Scientists have warned that we need to cut fossil fuel emissions by half by 2030 to avert disaster. (AFP)The smaller, poorer nations that will bare the devastating brunt of climate change are pushing for ric

Anti-government protesters torched dozens of cars and set fire to storefronts during daylong clashes with riot police across central Paris on Saturday, as thousands took part in fresh "yellow vest" protests against high fuel taxes.Officers responded with tear gas after being targeted by protesters hurling rocks and other projectiles on the third weekend of demonstrations which have morphed into a broader rebuke of French President Emmanuel Macron.Smoke engulfed several shopping districts as the

G20 powers open two days of summit talks on Friday after a stormy buildup dominated by tensions with Russia and US President Donald Trump's combative stance on trade and climate fears. (Yonhap)Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will be among the world leaders gathering amid high tension over an array of world issues including the Ukraine conflict, trade with China and relations with Saudi Arabia.But the two will not sit down together after Trump abruptly cancelled a planned meeting

Canadian author Margaret Atwood said Wednesday she will publish a sequel to her novel "The Handmaid's Tale" next year, taking readers deeper into her vision of a dystopian America ruled by a misogynistic theocracy.Atwood said the new book, "The Testaments," will pursue unresolved narratives in the original 1985 novel, delving into the "inner workings" of the fictional nation of Gilead. Activists in favor of the legalization of abortion don costumes inspired by Canadian author Margaret Atwood`s f

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday warned of the threat of "full-scale war" and said Russia had sharply increased its military presence on their shared border as tensions escalate between the ex-Soviet neighbours.The crisis also threatened growing diplomatic fallout with US President Donald Trump warning that he may cancel a long-awaited summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin.Trump is scheduled to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires at the end of this week, but he told The Was