INTERNATIONAL

North Korean state media have raised the possibility that the isolated country could “establish a new relationship” with the United States. It comes a day before North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meets US President Donald Trump for historic talks. The comments mark a shift in tone from North Korea after decades of animosity towards the US. Meanwhile Mr Trump has ...

US President Donald Trump says he wants Russia to be part of the G7 group of key industrialised nations. Russia was expelled in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea, but Mr Trump said he wanted the country readmitted. The build-up to the meeting has seen major disagreements between the US president and other nations over his imposition of trade tariffs. ...

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has overturned the conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity of former Democratic Republic of Congo Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba. Bemba was found guilty in 2016 of crimes committed in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002-2003. He was accused of failing to stop his rebels from killing and raping people. But a judge ...

Leaders of the G7 group are gathering in Canada for what could be one its most acrimonious summits in years. On the eve of the meeting, the French and Canadian leaders clashed with US President Donald Trump on the summit’s key agenda – trade tariffs. Mr Trump, expected to be the last to arrive and first to leave, has imposed ...

An Uzbek man who carried out a lorry attack which killed five people in Sweden last year has been sentenced to life for terrorist crimes. Rakhmat Akilov, 40, had expressed sympathy for the Islamic State (IS) group before the attack in Stockholm. But prosecutors had to prove he intended to harm the state, as IS did not say it was ...

A White House communications aide who was criticised for reportedly joking about Senator John McCain’s cancer has left her role, an official says. It was reported last month that Kelly Sadler had said the Arizona Republican’s vote did not matter because he was “dying anyway”. The remark came during a meeting about CIA Director Gina Haspel, whose nomination Mr McCain ...

Spain’s first astronaut, Pedro Duque, has been named minister of science by the country’s new Socialist government. Prime Minister and self-labelled feminist Pedro Sánchez is expected to appoint a women-majority cabinet, in contrast to the male-dominated executives of ousted PM Mariano Rajoy. Women will take the deputy premiership, and the economy and finance portfolios. Mr Duque, 55, last went to ...

A US judge who was widely criticised for his leniency towards a campus rapist has been removed from office by voters. Judge Aaron Persky handed Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner a six-month sentence in June 2016. But county judges in California are elected, and if a petition to remove them from office garners enough signatures a vote will be held. ...

The Council of Fashion Designers of America has paid tribute to Kate Spade, who died on Tuesday, calling her “a great talent who had an immeasurable impact on American fashion”. Spade, a handbag and fashion designer, was found dead in her New York home. Police said they were investigating her death, at 55, as an apparent suicide. Spade’s family said ...

At least 192 people are missing and 75 are dead as a result of the explosion of the Fuego volcano in Guatemala on Sunday, officials say. Villages on the slopes were buried in volcanic ash and mud. Rescue work on Tuesday was disrupted when a new eruption sent hot gas and molten rock streaming down the volcano’s south side. More ...