VALLETTA, MALTA — Three suspects were formally charged this week in the 2017 slaying of Maltese anti-corruption journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia.    Brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio and Vince Muscat, all in their 50s, were arrested in December 2017. The Justice Ministry’s confirmation of the charges, which allows a trial to be held, came Tuesday, days before a 20-month deadline.    The public prosecutor now has another 20 months to set a date for the trial, which legal experts said might not take place for years.    Late last week, the …

Setting aside their usual bickering, South Korean liberal and conservative parties on Thursday vowed to cooperate to help the Seoul government prevail in an escalating trade row with Japan.   After a meeting between the parties’ leaders and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Seoul’s presidential office, they announced plans to create a “pan-national” emergency body to respond to tighter Japanese trade controls on certain technology exports to South Korea.   The meeting came amid growing concerns in South Korea that Japan’s trade curbs, which could possibly be expanded to …

Setting aside their usual bickering, South Korean liberal and conservative parties on Thursday vowed to cooperate to help the Seoul government prevail in an escalating trade row with Japan.   After a meeting between the parties’ leaders and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Seoul’s presidential office, they announced plans to create a “pan-national” emergency body to respond to tighter Japanese trade controls on certain technology exports to South Korea.   The meeting came amid growing concerns in South Korea that Japan’s trade curbs, which could possibly be expanded to …

The U.K. will plunge into recession if it leaves the European Union without a divorce deal, with the pound plunging in value and the economy shrinking by 2% in a year, Britain’s official economic watchdog said Thursday. The Office for Budget Responsibility made its assessment as chances of an economically disruptive no-deal Brexit appear to be rising.  Both men vying to take over next week as Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, say they will lead the U.K. out of the bloc, with or without an agreement on …

Iranian state television said Thursday forces from the country’s Revolutionary Guard seized a foreign tanker accused of smuggling oil. The report said the vessel was intercepted Sunday in a section of the Strait of Hormuz south of Iran’s Larak Island with 12 crew members on board. It said the tanker was involved in smuggling one million liters of fuel, but did not give details about its country of origin. The seizure comes after the Panamanian-flagged tanker MT Riah, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, disappeared from ship tracking …

Iranian state television said Thursday forces from the country’s Revolutionary Guard seized a foreign tanker accused of smuggling oil. The report said the vessel was intercepted Sunday in a section of the Strait of Hormuz south of Iran’s Larak Island with 12 crew members on board. It said the tanker was involved in smuggling one million liters of fuel, but did not give details about its country of origin. The seizure comes after the Panamanian-flagged tanker MT Riah, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, disappeared from ship tracking …

India’s space agency says it will make a second attempt to launch an unmanned probe to the Moon’s south pole next Monday, July 22. The launch of the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will take place exactly one week after its first attempt was aborted less than an hour before liftoff due to a “technical snag” on the giant Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark Three rocket. FILE – Indian Space Research Organization scientists work on various modules of lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 at ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE) in Bengaluru, India, June …

India’s space agency says it will make a second attempt to launch an unmanned probe to the Moon’s south pole next Monday, July 22. The launch of the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will take place exactly one week after its first attempt was aborted less than an hour before liftoff due to a “technical snag” on the giant Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark Three rocket. FILE – Indian Space Research Organization scientists work on various modules of lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 at ISRO Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE) in Bengaluru, India, June …

The lawyer and family of Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who helped the United States track down former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, told VOA that Afridi continues to suffer in prison under dire conditions. Qamar Nadeem, Afridi’s lawyer, expressed optimism that the fate of his client would be discussed during the planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan next week at the White House. “Dr. Afridi can’t sleep properly, due to harsh conditions and sweltering heat, as there is no window in the …

The lawyer and family of Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani physician who helped the United States track down former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, told VOA that Afridi continues to suffer in prison under dire conditions. Qamar Nadeem, Afridi’s lawyer, expressed optimism that the fate of his client would be discussed during the planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan next week at the White House. “Dr. Afridi can’t sleep properly, due to harsh conditions and sweltering heat, as there is no window in the …