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US prosecutors charged a 52-year-old bus driver on Wednesday with the kidnap and rape of three young women who were imprisoned in his Cleveland home. >> US police probe how kidnap hidden for 10 years CLEVELAND: US prosecutors charged a 52-year-old bus driver on Wednesday with the kidnap and rape of three young women who were imprisoned in his Cleveland home for 10 long years of torment. One of the captives gave birth to a daughter during the decade they spent confined in Ariel Castro's modest city home, unable to escape until Monday, when the young mother, Amanda Berry, managed to signal a neighbour. Two of the Ohio women were joyously reunited with their families on Wednesday, while the third received treatment and police interrogated their alleged captor. Castro is accused of raping 27-year-old Berry, 23-year-old Gina DeJesus and 32-year-old Michelle Knight, city prosecutor Victor Perez said. He also faces four counts of kidnapping, related to DeJesus, Knight, Berry and … [Read more...] about US man charged with rape, kidnap after 10 year ordeal World news

WASHINGTON: IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Tuesday (Mar 14) warned the world's largest economies to avoid damaging the incipient global recovery with policies that would derail trade and immigration. In a message to the Group of 20 finance ministers ahead of their meeting this week, Lagarde said the world economy is on the road to recovery, "But it would be a mistake to assume that it will automatically return" to good health. "Above all, we should collectively avoid self-inflicted injuries," Lagarde said in a blog post. "This requires steering clear of policies that would seriously undermine trade, migration, capital flows, and the sharing of technologies across borders." The message seemed targeted primarily at US President Donald Trump, who in his first days in office has imposed controversial immigration restrictions, and threatened unilateral trade sanctions against the closest US trading partners, as well as slamming multilateral trade deals and organizations. "Such measures … [Read more...] about IMF’s Lagarde warns G20 to avoid ‘self inflicted’ wounds World news

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a staunch joint defence of free trade on Sunday (Mar 19), as the United States pushes towards greater protectionism. "We want free and open markets," Merkel said in a speech in Hanover, a day before the world's biggest computer trade fair, CeBIT, kicks off in the central German city. The event is partnered with Japan this year. "In these times of inter-connectedness, we want to link together our societies and work together in an equitable way. That's what free trade is about," she said. She made no direct reference to US President Donald Trump, elected on a protectionist "America First" platform promising to slash trade deficits, but noted that the European Union and Japan are negotiating a free trade deal that may be reached this year. "At a time when we are arguing a lot over free trade, open borders and democratic values, it's a good sign that Japan and Germany are not arguing" over trade, she … [Read more...] about Abe, Merkel call for open markets World news

Three contract workers at a strike-hit American-owned mine in eastern Indonesia have been shot dead in an ambush and three people wounded, police said Saturday. Police from the Mimika district in Indonesia's restive Papua province said two bodies were recovered Friday from a burning Freeport-owned car on a road to the mine, and the third nearby. "The three men were found dead yesterday and are yet to be identified. Today we will continue to investigate who the attackers might be and how the shooting happened," Mimika police spokesman Mada Laksanta told AFP. "Two military officers and a Freeport security guard were also shot. The officers were shot in the leg and the guards in the right arm." More than 8,000 of Freeport's 23,000 workers at the mine, near the town of Timika, have been on strike since September 15, demanding significant wage increases. The dispute, coupled with strikes at Freeport's South American mines, has raised concerns of a copper shortage, but analysts say … [Read more...] about 3 Freeport contractors shot dead in Indonesia World news