The European Union said Monday it would set up a legal entity to preserve oil and other business with Iran, in a bid to evade US sanctions after President Donald Trump withdrew from a nuclear agreement.　(Yonhap)The European Union and Iran, along with Russia and China, said they were determined to “protect the freedom of their economic operators to pursue legitimate business with Iran” in a statement issued after high-level talks at the United Nations. (AFP)

NEW YORK - A second woman has come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's embattled nominee for the Supreme Court, The New Yorker said Sunday.Senate Democrats are investigating the bombshell claim by Deborah Ramirez, 53, who says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a college party at Yale University in the 1980s, thrust his genitals in her face and caused her to touch them without her consent while pushing them away.Kavanaugh denied th

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) - North Korea and Iran will dominate this week's gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, where President Donald Trump will be firmly in the spotlight as he continues to upend global diplomacy.After warming up to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and ditching the Iran nuclear deal, the unpredictable Trump takes the podium on Tuesday to face foes and increasingly uneasy allies at the UN General Assembly.On Wednesday, he will for the first time chair a Se

GENEVA (AFP) -- A World Trade Organization arbitrator will review Friday a Chinese request to impose more than $7 billion (nearly 6 billion euros) in annual sanctions on the United States over anti-dumping practices, a Geneva trade official said. (AFP)The decision to appoint an arbitrator was reached during a special meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body convened to discuss developments in a five-year-old trade dispute between the world's top two economies.Beijing had already warned earlier

Thousands of demonstrators marched Sunday through Nicaragua's capital Managua to demand the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and the liberation of hundreds detained during months of deadly government repression.Whole families -- including young children and the elderly --took part in the so-called "Rescuing the Homeland" march, many sounding noisy vuvuzelas, waving Nicaraguan flags and shouting slogans as they made their way through the streets. (AFP)Months of turmoil in the Central Americ

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first competitive goals for Juventus on Sunday, with a second-half double that ensured a 2-1 win over Sassuolo to make it four victories from as many Serie A games.But there was controversy in Turin as Juventus winger Douglas Costa was sent off late on after being caught on camera spitting at Sassuolo's Federico Di Francesco.Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo, who arrived amid great pomp and ceremony following a 100-million-euro ($117 million) deal from Real Madrid

Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into mainland China late on Sunday after leaving a trail of destruction in Hong Kong and Macau and killing at least 59 people in the northern Philippines.The world's biggest storm this year felled trees and sent skyscrapers swaying in high-rise Hong Kong, injuring more than 200 people there before making landfall on the coast of Jiangmen city, in southern China's Guangdong province.Provincial authorities said they evacuated a total of 2.37 million people and ordered tens

WASHINGTON - One of the top US experts on North Korea says President Donald Trump should agree to separating talks for a formal peace on the Korean peninsula from the issue of Pyongyang's denuclearization.In an interview with AFP, Victor Cha, who was Trump's pick for a new ambassador to Seoul last year before the White House changed its mind, said Trump should get on board with the effort by North and South Korea to craft a declaration to end the 68-year official state of war between the two cou

MANILA (AFP) -- Two women were killed Saturday in a landslide set off by Super Typhoon Mangkhut, Philippine police said, the first reported deaths in the massive storm. A man is hit by a wave while attempting to recover salvageable materials in Manila Bay, Manila, Philippines, Saturday. (Yonhap)　Officers in the city of Baguio recovered the women‘s bodies from the soil and rubble after a hillside collapsed from the typhoon’s heavy rains, said police Superintendent Pilita Tacio.

PALERMO, Italy  (AFP) -- Pope Francis visits the Italian island of Sicily on Saturday to pay homage to a priest murdered by the mafia 25 years ago after trying to save youngsters in poor neighbourhoods from falling into their hands.　The Argentinian pontiff‘s visit will be brief but is part of a wider campaign he has been waging against organised crime. 　He is expected to arrive in Palermo at 10:45 am (0845 GMT) and will say mass, then head to the Palermo parish where Father Giuseppe “Pino” Pugli

Volkswagen announced Thursday it would end production of its iconic "Beetle" cars in 2019 after adding a pair of final editions of the insect-inspired vehicles.The curvy-topped sedans, which shook off Nazi origins to become a global auto phenomenon, are being sidelined as Volkswagen emphasizes electric cars and larger family-oriented vehicles.But company officials, still trying to completely turn the page after 2015's costly "dieselgate" scandal, opened the door to reviving the model at some poi

Tadd Fujikawa, the youngest American to make the cut in a US PGA Tour event, became the first openly gay male professional golfer, making the revelation in an Instagram post.The 27-year-old from Honolulu said he had been pondering about going public for some time before telling the world he is gay."I thought that I didn't need to come out because it doesn't matter if anyone knows," Fujikawa wrote. "But I remember how much other's stories have helped me in my darkest times to have hope. I spent w

Cancer will kill nearly 10 million people this year, experts said Wednesday, warning the disease's global burden continues to rise in spite of better prevention and earlier diagnosis. An estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases were predicted worldwide for 2018 -- with 9.6 million deaths, said a report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer.This is up from estimated 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million deaths reported in the agency's last assessment just six years ago.The tol

CUPERTINO, California (AFP) -- Apple unveiled three new iPhones on Wednesday in a bid to bolster its spot in the premium smartphone market, along with an upgraded smartwatch that takes electrocardiograms and detects falls.The California tech giant said it would begin selling its 5.8-inch iPhone XS and 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max later this month, keeping the starting price of the company’s top-end model at $999 but bumping the entry price for the version with the larger screen.Apple also announced a

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Scientists have identified two of the sets of remains of US troops killed in the Korean War that were recently returned by North Korea, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday.“There’s been already some closure for a couple of families that have waited many, many years for this,” Mattis told Pentagon reporters.Praising the “good work” of forensic scientists, the Pentagon chief said they had been able to quickly identify the two remains thanks to a variety of information, in