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BALI, Indonesia (Reuters) — The chance of an eruption remained high as the Mount Agung volcano in Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali continues exhibiting signs of unrest, a geologist said on Friday. Gede Suantika, a geologist at the Mount Agung Observation Post, said the volcano has maintained a menacingly high level of seismic activity, with tremors shaking the mountain daily since volcanic activity began increasing on Sept. 18. “The condition of this volcano is still […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi forces on Friday launched an assault on the northern town of Hawija, one of the last bastions still held by the Islamic State group in the country, its commander said. “A huge military operation has begun to liberate Hawija and its surrounding areas,” Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah said in a statement. Iraqi forces began an operation to retake the jihadist enclave around Hawija on September 21, swiftly taking the […]
MUMBAI, India (AFP) — Commuters stampeded on a Mumbai railway bridge during the morning rush hour Friday killing at least 15 people, a disaster management official said. The cause of the crush was not immediately known but Tanaji Kamble, a spokesman for Mumbai’s disaster management cell, warned that the death toll “is likely to go up”. He said there were at least five critically injured as well as the 15 confirmed dead. “It was the peak […]
SHANGHAI, China (CCTV) — China’s domestically developed C919 and ARJ21 passenger jets successfully completed their test flights on Thursday in Shanghai. The C919 completed its second test flight after two hours and 46 minutes in the air. The jet took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. The flight time was twice that of its maiden flight in May. “The retractable landing gear was smoothly controlled at the first […]
by Marion Thibaut with Julien Girault in Beijing Agence France-Presse BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) – Battered by global outrage over an army crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, Myanmar has found comfort in an old friend –- China, an Asian superpower whose unflinching support is tied to the billions it has lavished on ports, gas and oil in violence-hit Rakhine state. Close to half a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in the last month after a militant attack sparked […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – A panel weighing three kilogrammes fell from a plane onto a factory near Tokyo, Japanese officials said Thursday, the country’s second case in a week after a similar part landed on a car. No injuries were reported after the panel was discovered inside the factory near Narita Airport in the suburbs of the Japanese capital, a spokesman for All Nippon Airways told AFP. “After consulting with a panel manufacturer, we […]
by Hiroshi Hiyama and Richard Carter Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially dissolved parliament Thursday, effectively kicking off a national election campaign where he faces an unexpected and formidable challenge from the popular governor of Tokyo. Members of the lower house raised their arms and shouted “Banzai” three times — the Japanese equivalent of “three cheers” — after the speaker read out a letter from Abe officially dissolving the chamber. Voters in […]
MAUNGDAW, Myanmar (AFP) – Rohingya militants on Wednesday denied the Myanmar army’s allegations that they had massacred scores of Hindu villagers, whose bodies soldiers displayed to the press after exhuming them from mass graves in northern Rakhine state. Major clashes between the army and the Muslim insurgents erupted last month, triggering a dire refugee crisis with nearly half a million Rohingya fleeing across the border to Bangladesh. An information war has followed, as Myanmar’s government pushes back against […]
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — The United Nations has drawn up a contingency plan to feed up to 700,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar after some 480,000 fled to Bangladesh over the past month and arrivals continue. A senior official from the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) told AFP they were now prepared to provide massive food and other emergency aid if the influx continues in coming weeks. “All the UN agencies together have now set a […]
KARANGASEM, Indonesia (AFP) – Indonesian authorities are on standby to divert flights destined for the holiday island of Bali as increasingly frequent tremors from a rumbling volcano stoke fears an eruption could be imminent. Mount Agung, 75 kilometers (47 miles) from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been shaking since August, threatening to erupt for the first time in more than 50 years and forcing more than 80,000 people to flee their homes. Bali attracts millions of […]
KOLKATA, India (AFP) – A strike that shut down India’s picturesque hill station of Darjeeling — causing violence and disruption to tourism and tea production — was called off Wednesday after 104 days, protesters said. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), a movement demanding the formation of a separate Indian state for ethnic Gorkhas in West Bengal, said it would enter into talks with the government. “After the union home minister Rajnath Singh’s appeal, we had a discussion […]
by Kyoko Hasegawa Agence France-Presse Popular Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike Wednesday vowed a break with old-school politics as she officially launched a new party she hopes will shake up the upcoming snap election in Japan. Pledging to bring back “hope” to the Japanese people, Koike said the party aimed to “reset” the country, which is expected to go to the polls on October 22. “Now is the time for us to carry out reforms that […]
