Asia

Hong Kong police enter ransacked campus after protest siege

HONG KONG, China (AFP) –Hong Kong police on Thursday entered a ransacked university campus where authorities faced off for days with barricaded pro-democracy protesters, looking for petrol bombs and other dangerous materials left over from the occupation. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University became the epicenter of the territory’s increasingly violent protest movement when clashes broke out on November 17 between police and protesters armed with bows and arrows as well as Molotov cocktails. The standoff […]

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Iraq’s deadly unrest closes roads, schools across south

KARBALA, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi anti-government protesters blocked roads in the country’s south with burning tires on Wednesday, like schools and public offices stayed shut a day after deadly clashes with security forces. The country has been rocked by the biggest wave of protests since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, leaving more than 350 people dead and around 15,000 wounded since early October. Violence had erupted in the southern holy city of Karbala […]

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18 dead after Nepal bus plunges into gorge

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — At least 18 people died after a bus skidded off a highway in Nepal and plunged into a deep gorge on Wednesday, authorities said, as rescuers scoured the steep terrain for survivors. The bus was traveling from the hilly Arghakhanchi district west of Kathmandu to the southern city of Butwal when it left the road and plummeted some 350 meters (1,150 feet) to the ground. “We have recovered dead bodies of […]

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Saudi crown prince visits UAE amid push to end Yemen war

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the United Arab Emirates Wednesday, as efforts to end the nearly five-year war in Yemen gain momentum. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are close allies and key members of a military coalition backing the government in Yemen against the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels. But an Emirati drawdown in July followed by fighting in southern Yemen between UAE-backed separatists and the government — still […]

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Bangladesh to shut brick kilns as air quality soars to world’s worst

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh said Tuesday it will shut hundreds of soot-belching brick kilns around its capital Dhaka as part of measures to reduce thick smog enveloping the city and pushing air quality levels to among the world’s worst. Residents in several other cities in South Asia, including India’s capital New Delhi and Lahore in Pakistan, have also been breathing toxic smog in recent weeks amid uncontrolled emissions and crop burning. Air Visual, an […]

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Hong Kong leader vows to ‘listen humbly’ after shock poll result

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s unpopular leader Carrie Lam said on Monday her government would “listen humbly” to the public after voters dealt a humiliating election setback to the Beijing-backed establishment she heads. “The government will certainly listen humbly to citizens’ opinions and reflect on them seriously,” she said in a statement issued by the government. Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp scored a crushing victory in community-level elections held on Sunday, a result that […]

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Protests drive record 70 percent poll turnout in Hong Kong

by Yan ZHAO / Xinqi SU HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s voters turned out in unprecedented numbers Sunday for local council elections that the city’s pro-democracy movement hopes will pile pressure on the Beijing-backed government to listen to their demands after months of violent protest. Long queues snaked out of polling stations across the territory in the election for 18 district councils, where the record turnout is expected to benefit democratic forces. The […]

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Hong Kongers vote in record numbers as democracy camp seeks to send message

  by Yan ZHAO / Xinqi SU Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s voters turned out in record numbers Sunday for local council elections that the city’s pro-democracy movement hopes will add pressure on the Beijing-backed government to heed their demands after months of violent protest. Lengthy queues snaked out of polling stations across the territory in the election for 18 district councils, where high turnout is expected to benefit democratic […]

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Israeli PM Netanyahu defiant after corruption indictment

  by Joe Dyke and Steve Weizman Agence France Presse JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday became the country’s first prime minister to be indicted in office, on corruption charges, but defiantly condemned the “coup” against him and vowed to hold onto power. The shock announcement compounded the political chaos gripping Israel, which has been without a government for months and faces the prospect of its third election in a year. After months […]

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Fury as Singapore hangs Malaysian ‘drug mule’

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore hanged a Malaysian heroin trafficker on Friday, despite appeals from his homeland to stay a “heart-wrenching” execution that critics said was too extreme for a low-level drug mule. The city-state, known for strict enforcement of laws and low crime rates, steadfastly maintains that capital punishment is an effective deterrent against crime despite appeals from rights groups to soften its stance. Abd Helmi Ab Halim was sentenced to death in 2017 […]

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South Korea ‘to extend’ military pact with Japan: media

NAGOYA, Japan (AFP) — South Korea will extend a critical military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, Japanese media reported on Friday, just hours before the pact was due to expire as the two US allies row. National broadcaster NHK and local news agency Kyodo reported that Seoul would reverse its decision to allow the pact to lapse at midnight and had communicated this to Tokyo. It was not possible to immediately confirm the reports but South […]

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ChickTok: Indonesian kids given pets to wean them off smartphones

BANDUNG, Indonesia (AFP) — Officials in one Indonesian city has hatched a plan to wean children off smartphones — by giving them their own fluffy chicks to raise. Around 2,000 four-day-old chicks will be handed out to pupils at elementary and junior high schools in Bandung in the coming weeks in an attempt to distract the kids from their gadgets. Students must feed their new pets before and after school and can keep them at […]

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