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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The top commander for US military forces in the Middle East on Sunday called recent civilian deaths in the Iraqi city of Mosul a “terrible tragedy,” but stopped short of taking responsibility. “We are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and will continue to take extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians,” General Joseph Votel, who heads US Central Command, said in a statement. “We will continue to prioritize […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — French President Francois Hollande called Sunday for efforts to intensify the relationship between Europe and Asia in the face of resurgent “isolationism.” He was speaking in Singapore, the first stage of the last international tour of his five-year term which will also take him to Malaysia and Indonesia. “I appeal for us to intensify our exchanges, our trade, political and cultural agreements,” he said. “This is all the more necessary […]
HONG KONG (AFP) — Carrie Lam was voted leader of Hong Kong Sunday by a mainly pro-China committee according to unofficial media counts, in an election rejected as a sham by pro-democracy activists. Widely seen as Beijing’s favorite candidate, her victory comes as semi-autonomous Hong Kong remains deeply politically divided with concerns growing that China is tightening its grip.
PARIS, France (AFP) — From Sydney to New York, cities and monuments will dim their lights on Saturday in a show of solidarity against the threats being faced by the planet from humankind. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Earth Hour, an annual bid to raise awareness about global warming caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas to power cars and power plants. Since it was first held in 2007, in Sydney […]
Huddled in makeshift shipping container homes on a South Korean waterfront, the relatives of the missing from the Sewol ferry disaster have endured a harrowing wait to recover their dead children. (Video courtesy AFPTV)
by Hwang Sunghee Agence France Presse JINDO, South Korea (AFP) –South Korea’s sunken Sewol ferry was sailed away from its watery grave Friday, beginning its final journey nearly three years after it went down with the loss of more than 300 lives. A flotilla of powerful tugs towed the wreck, lying on its side on a platform between two giant salvage barges, towards a semi-submersible that will finally bring it into port. The […]
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday (March 24) neither he nor his wife had made donations to the head of a Japanese nationalist school at the heart of a political scandal that is chipping away at Abe’s support. School principal Yasunori Kagoike said on Thursday in parliament he had received 1 million yen ($9,000) in an envelope from Abe’s wife, Akie, on behalf of her husband. Kagoike’s educational group, […]
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — More than 400,000 Afghan children are expected to drop out of school this year in the face of growing insecurity and displacement amid a spike in forced repatriations from Pakistan, Save the Children said Thursday. Thursday marked the first day of the new school year in Afghanistan, but around one-third of all children — 3.7 million — were not in attendance, the advocacy group said. “Today should be a happy day […]
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy, Joseph Yun, met with his South Korean counterpart Kim Hong-kyun in Seoul on Wednesday (March 22) to discuss a response to the North’s weapons program. The bilateral meeting comes one week after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first Asia trip to Japan, South Korea and China. Yun said Tillerson has delivered a strong message to Beijing that they are concerned about […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A new North Korean missile test failed on Wednesday, the South’s defence ministry said, two weeks after Pyongyang launched four rockets in what it called a drill for an attack on US bases in Japan. “South Korea and the United States are aware of the North Korean missile launch,” said a spokesman for Seoul’s defence ministry, adding they “suspect it was a failure”. The ministry did not identify the type of […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea will hold a rare parliamentary session next month, state media reported Wednesday, as regional tensions intensify following the nuclear-armed state’s recent missile tests. The country’s legislative body meets only once or twice a year, mostly for day-long sessions to rubber-stamp budgets or other decisions deemed necessary by the ruling Workers’ Party. The last meeting was held in June 2016 when North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was elected chairman […]
OPUK RANGE, Crimea (Reuters) — Over two thousand Russian paratroopers took part in large-scale drills on Tuesday (March 21) at Opuk training range in Crimea. The commander in charge of the exercise, Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov, said the military manoeuvres were prompted by an “increased terrorist threat” in the region. Servicemen were practising amphibious landings, airdrops and carried out firing drills. About 600 pieces of combat hardware were involved into exercises on the Black Sea peninsula. […]
