'Yellow vest' protesters return to French streets

PARIS - Hundreds of protesters are trying to breathe new life into France's apparently waning yellow vest movement with marches in Paris and gatherings in other cities, but numbers appeared down on their first demonstration of the new year.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Democrats pass fund plan, but without wall

WASHINGTON - On their first day in the majority, House Democrats have passed a plan to reopen the government without funding US President Donald Trump's promised border wall.

Prosecutor seeks death penalty in Khashoggi murder trial

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi prosecutors sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday.

Archaeologists find Mexico temple to the god of skinning sacrifices

MEXICO CITY - Archaeologists in Mexico have found the first temple to the pre-Hispanic deity Xipe Totec, a god of fertility and war who was worshipped by sacrificing and skinning captives.

British industry warns of Brexit skills shortage

British industry chiefs are warning the government that the United Kingdom's impending departure from the European Union could cause a staffing crisis as manufacturers face the biggest shortage of skilled labor for 30 years.

South Korea tries to fix its demographic crisis

SEOUL - In just over a decade, South Korea has spent the equivalent of a small European economy trying to fix its demographic crisis, yet birthrates have dropped to the lowest in the world.

Trump quietly targets Asian immigrants

Robert Huynh from Houston, Texas, was fathered by a soldier from the United States during the Vietnam War. He immigrated to the US as a 14-year-old with his Vietnamese mother in 1984 under the Amerasian Act, which allowed immigration to the US of certain children fathered by a US citizen.

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Trump open to second Kim meeting

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he has received a letter from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and he expects a second meeting with its top leader Kim Jong-un, but analyst said it will take some time before the meeting could happen.

No end to US shutdown as workers suffer

More than 800,000 out of 3 million federal workers have entered the second week of a partial US government shutdown and have taken to social media to voice their concerns, while national parks have been left untended.

DRC election banks on peaceful power transfer

Votes continue to be counted in the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential elections as monitors hope for a peaceful transition of power for the first time in 17 years. The Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) is expected to announce the definitive results on Jan 15 with a new president sworn in on Jan 18.