Candidate asked to cancel rally
French presidential candidate Francois Fillon, fighting for political survival, called on supporters Saturday not to “abdicate” to those trying to destroy him as the Socialist mayor of Paris asked him to cancel a scheduled rally that would test his staying power.
The conservative Fillon, whose campaign has been unraveling over impending corruption charges, vowed to remake France in a speech on Saturday, a day before what amounts to his last stand.
He will hold a rally Sunday near the Eiffel Tower widely seen as a way to measure support via the numbers he can muster. In a video tweeted Friday, Fillon called on his supporters to show up.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Malaysia said it expelled North Korea’s ambassador on Saturday for refusing to apologize for his strong accusations over Malaysia’s handling of the investigation into the killing of the North Korean leader’s half brother.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said a notice was sent to the North Korean Embassy at around 6 p.m. declaring Ambassador Kang Chol persona non grata. The notice said Kang must leave Malaysia within 48 hours.
Earlier in the week, Malaysia demanded that North Korea formally apologize for Kang’s accusations over the investigation into the Feb. 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur’s airport, including that “the Malaysian government had something to hide and that Malaysia has colluded with outside powers to defame” North Korea, Anifah said in a statement.
He said that no apology had come and none appeared forthcoming, and that North Korean Embassy officials also failed to turn up for a meet- ing Saturday at the foreign ministry, so Malaysia decided to expel the ambassador.
“It should be made clear – Malaysia will react strongly against any insults made against it or any attempt to tarnish its reputation,” Anifah said.
The death of Kim, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has unleashed a diplomatic battle between Malaysia and North Korea. Authorities said Kim was killed within 20 minutes after two women smeared his face with VX,