Asia

Shallow 5.9 earthquake hits northwestern Iran: USGS

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A shallow 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck northwestern Iran early Friday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake struck around 60 kilometers (35 miles) from the town of Hastrud, in East Azerbaijan Province, shortly before 2.30am (2300 GMT). The USGS issued an alert warning that “significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread”. Iran sits where two major tectonic plates meet and see frequent seismic activity. The country has […]

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Mainland Chinese student jailed in Hong Kong protests

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A student from mainland China arrested at a Hong Kong democracy protest was sentenced on Thursday to six weeks in prison for possession of an offensive weapon — the city’s first such case involving a mainlander in almost five months of unrest. Since the first mass demonstrations in June, more than 3,300 people have been arrested in Hong Kong in connection to the protest movement, with some charged for rioting […]

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China imposes curfew on minors in gaming crackdown

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has imposed a curfew to limit the time spent by children playing games online, in the latest part of a government crackdown on youth gaming addiction. The regulations will mean those under 18 cannot play games online between 10pm and 8am, and for only ninety minutes at a time during the daytime. In addition, the guidelines will reduce the amount of money minors can spend online playing games to […]

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Four tourists among 8 wounded in Jordan stabbing

AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Eight people, including four tourists, were wounded in a knife attack on Wednesday at the famed archeological site of Jerash in northern Jordan, a security spokesman told AFP. Four tourists — three Mexicans and a Swiss woman — were wounded, along with a Jordanian tour guide and a security officer who tried to stop the assailant, public security directorate spokesman Amer Sartawi said. “The assailant was immediately arrested,” the security directorate […]

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Hundreds protest corruption in Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — Hundreds protested in front of Kuwait’s parliament on Wednesday evening against the state’s perceived unwillingness to fight corruption, in a country where such events have periodically triggered political crises. The demonstrators called on the speaker of parliament Marzouq al-Ghanim to step down. “Resign! Resign, Marzouq, the Kuwaiti people don’t want you!”, they chanted. Other lawmakers have accused the speaker of corruption. The protesters had been mobilized by former lawmaker Saleh […]

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Erdogan, Trump announce Washington talks on November 13

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to the United States next week to meet Donald Trump, the Turkish presidency said Wednesday, amid heightened tensions between the two countries. In a telephone conversation, “the two leaders reconfirmed that they will meet in Washington on Wednesday, November 13, on President Trump’s invitation,” the Turkish presidency said. Erdogan had threatened to cancel his visit due to disputes over the Syrian conflict and the US […]

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15 killed in suspected rebel attacks in Thailand’s south

  by Tuwaedaniya MERINGING with Thanaporn PROMYAMYAI in Bangkok Agence France Presse YALA, Thailand (AFP) — At least fifteen people were gunned down in an ambush by suspected Muslim militants in Thailand’s violence-wracked south, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, one of the bloodiest days in the 15-year insurgency. Thailand’s three southernmost provinces have been in the grip of a conflict that has killed more than 7,000 people, as Malay-Muslim militants fight for more autonomy […]

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Xi, Macron unite on climate after US withdraws from Paris pact

  by Jérôme RIVET Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Wednesday that the Paris climate pact was “irreversible”, showing a united front after Washington formally withdrew from the accord this week. The joint declaration came at the end of Macron’s second visit to China, which started on Monday in Shanghai and included talks on trade and the Iranian nuclear issue. The French leader […]

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DFA warns Filipinos vs fake visa processing services directed at “irregular immigrants” in Korea

(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs has warned Filipinos against fake visa processing services directed at “irregular immigrants.” In an advisory, the Philippine embassy in Seoul said the fake services, which are usually advertised on Facebook, purport to give assistance to Filipinos who wish to acquire a valid visa to work in Korea. The services are supposed to come for free or for a “small attorney’s fee.” “Please note that there is no […]

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Turkey says, it captured sister of dead IS leader

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish forces in northern Syria have detained a sister of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group who was killed in a US raid, a senior Turkish official said Tuesday. “Turkey has captured Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s sister” in a raid near the town of Azaz, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. He named the woman as Rasmiya Awad, and said she was born in 1954. […]

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US navy prepares allies to ‘protect navigation’ in Gulf

by Mohamad Ali Harissi On Board the  RFA Cardigan Bay in the Gulf, Undefined (AFP) — The United States is training Gulf allies to “protect navigation” in the region’s troubled waterways, as it seeks to build an alliance to contain Iran. Washington’s three-week International Maritime Exercise (IMX), which started on October 21, came after a number of commercial vessels were attacked in the Gulf from May, ratcheting up regional tensions. Washington and other Western powers […]

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Xi pledges wider market access, free-trade deals

SHANGHAI, United States (AFP) –President Xi Jinping on Tuesday pledged to further open China’s economy, declaring the world must “tear down walls” as he opened an annual trade fair in Shanghai. Xi addressed an audience including French President Emmanuel Macron at the import exhibition, staged annually by China to show its willingness to free up its vast domestic markets in the face of criticism that they are too cosseted by Beijing. The world community must […]

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