Asia

17 killed in China coal mine accident, state media reports

    BEIJING, China (AFP) — Seventeen Chinese coal miners were killed when a lift used to move workers fell down a shaft, state media reported, the latest deadly mishap in the country’s accident-prone coal-mining industry. The accident occurred Thursday when a cable supporting a mining cage caught fire, causing the rig to tumble down into a state-operated coal mine in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, Xinhua news agency said. An operation to extract the trapped […]

Merkel says Erdogan terror comments ‘absurd’

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel regards accusations by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that she supports “terrorists” as “clearly absurd”, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said late Monday. “The chancellor has no intention of taking part in a game of provocation,” Seibert said in a brief written statement. “These accusations are clearly absurd.” Erdogan, whose government is embroiled in a spiralling row with European governments over the cancellation of pro-Ankara rallies on their […]

Expanding Turkey President Erdogan’s powers will cripple democracy: opposition leader

by Raziye Akkoc and Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi Agence France Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey will vote against expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers in an April referendum, the leader of the country’s main opposition party has predicted, warning the opposite outcome would cripple democracy by concentrating power in one man’s hands. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Republican People’s Party (CHP) chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu said even some ruling party voters were against a plan that […]

South Korea’s Moon vows ‘new history’ after impeachment

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The front-runner to succeed South Korea’s impeached president Park Geun-Hye on Sunday called for unity as the country writes a “new history”, while hundreds gathered outside the home of the ousted leader in a show of support. The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld a parliamentary vote to impeach Park, effectively removing her from office over a corruption scandal involving her close friend. A presidential election is to be held within […]

Bus in Haiti flees accident, kills 34: officials

by Amelie BARON Agence France Presse GONAIVES, Haiti (AFP) –A bus speeding away from a hit-and-run accident plowed into dozens of street musicians in northern Haiti on Sunday, killing 34 people, officials said. Seventeen people also were injured in Gonaives, a city of some 300,000 people located about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of the capital Port-au-Prince. “First, the bus plowed into two pedestrians, killing one of them, and injuring the other,” Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, […]

Erdogan warns Netherlands will ‘pay price’ after minister’s expulsion

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) –Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday threatened that the Netherlands would “pay a price” after expelling a Turkish minister and preventing Ankara’s top diplomat from landing ahead of planned rallies. The crisis with the Netherlands is the most serious yet as tensions spiral between Turkey and its EU allies over the desire of top Turkish officials to hold rallies abroad ahead of the April 16 referendum on a new constitution that […]

S. Korea’s impeached Park leaves Blue House: Yonhap

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s impeached ex-president Park Geun-Hye left the presidential Blue House on Sunday, two days after the Constitutional Court’s verdict removing her from office over a massive corruption scandal. South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said Park departed from the presidential office at around 1000 GMT and returned to her private residence in southern Seoul, where hundreds of her supporters have been protesting her ouster. The Constitutional Court on Friday upheld […]

Japan recalls tsunami, nuclear tragedy six years on

  by Harumi Ozawa Agence France Presse TOKYO Japan |(AFP) — Japan paused Saturday to mark six years since a deadly earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster devastated its northeastern coast, as more than 100,000 people remain unable or unwilling to return home. The magnitude 9.0 quake, which struck under the Pacific Ocean on March 11, 2011, and the tsunami it spawned left about 18,500 people dead or missing. The massive flow of water overwhelmed cooling […]

South Korean acting president convenes security meeting after impeachment ruling

  (Reuters) — South Korea’s acting President and Prime Minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn, convened a National Security Council (NSC) meeting on Friday (March 10) after an impeachment ruling and said the country should be ready for possible provocations from North Korea. The Constitutional Court earlier in the day removed President Park Geun-hye from office over a graft scandal involving the country’s conglomerates at a time of rising tensions with North Korea and China. Park, 65, no […]

2 dead, several injured in pro-Park rally

SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — Two President Park Geun-hye supporters were reported to have died as injured were removed by emergency services from a protest on Friday (March 10) opposing the Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold her impeachment. After the verdict hundreds of Park’s supporters outside the court tried to break through police barricades and two of them died, police said. One elderly man was taken to hospital with a head injury and the circumstances […]

S. Koreans jubilant, or stunned by president’s sacking

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The rival crowds outside South Korea’s constitutional court Friday for the verdict on impeached president Park Geun-Hye epitomised the opposing passions and generational splits over the country’s sweeping political scandal. Around 3,000 anti-Park demonstrators, mostly in their 20s to 40s, erupted with joy as the verdict was read out in a live television broadcast. “We won, we won,” they chanted, waving banners. “This is a victory of democracy,” 27-year-old student […]

Disaster training drill held in Tokyo before March 11 Fukushima anniversary

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) –About 100 people took part in a disaster training drill in downtown Tokyo on Friday (March 10), a day before the sixth anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and subsequent nuclear crisis. Participants were able to experience walking through a plastic tent filled with yellow smoke, get hands-on training using automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and receive free emergency rations. “I participate every year. I was surprised at the number of available automated […]