Asia

Syria army advances in Aleppo but rolled back in Palmyra

by Rim Haddad with Rouba El Husseini in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Syrian forces pushed forward in Aleppo Sunday as thousands fled rebel-held areas, but they lost ground to the south where the Islamic State group recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra. After a sudden regime withdrawal, IS jihadists made a lightning-fast advance across Palmyra, sparking new concerns for its remaining ancient treasures. Since mid-November, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad […]

S. Korea parliament impeaches scandal hit president

  by Jung Ha-Won Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) —  South Korean lawmakers on Friday voted to impeach President Park Geun-Hye, stripping away her sweeping executive powers over a corruption scandal and opening a new period of national uncertainty. The National Assembly ballot immediately transferred Park’s authority to the prime minister, pending a decision by the Constitutional Court on whether to ratify the decision and permanently remove the president from office. A ruling […]

S. Korea lawmakers cast votes on impeachment motion

by Park Chan-Kyong SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean lawmakers began voting Friday on an impeachment motion to strip President Park Geun-Hye of her sweeping executive powers over a corruption scandal that has paralysed her administration and triggered massive street protests. Members of the 300-seat national assembly cast anonymous, paper ballots that will be counted manually, with a two-thirds majority required for the motion to pass. “We have to make a historic decision while […]

Japan switches on nuclear reactor after safety shutdown

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan has restarted one of its few operating nuclear reactors after a two-month safety checkup, despite still-heated debate over atomic power following the Fukushima disaster. The unit was shut down in October for inspections and maintenance under stricter rules brought in after a quake-sparked tsunami swamped the Fukushima plant in 2011, sending some reactors into meltdown and causing the worst nuclear disaster in a generation. Utility Kyushu Electric said it switched […]

Indonesian President Joko Widodo visits quake zone

ACEH PROVINCE, Indonesia (Reuters) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited injured residents in the quake area of Aceh province on Friday (December 9). Widodo met over 130 patients treated in Chik Ditiro Hospital in Pidie Jaya regency, reported Kompas TV. Wednesday’s (December 7) 6.5 magnitude quake has killed 102 people and injured over 700. Hundreds of buildings crumbled to the ground and thousands left homeless. The province of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra […]

Impeachment day for S. Korea’s president

by Park Chan-Kyong Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, once known as the “Queen of Elections”, faced an act of attempted political regicide Friday as lawmakers gathered to vote on a motion calling for her impeachment. Engulfed by a corruption scandal that has transfixed the nation and paralysed her administration, Park must now confront the prospect of going down as the first democratically-elected South Korean president to be kicked […]

Russia says Syria army halts Aleppo attacks as rebels cornered

by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut Agence France-Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Syria’s army has halted its attacks in Aleppo to allow trapped civilians to be evacuated, Russia’s foreign minister said, after advancing regime forces cornered rebels in the city. Immediately after the announcement, AFP correspondents in Aleppo said air strikes ceased and artillery fire was far less intense, but later reported that the army was continuing to shell two rebels districts, Kalasseh […]

Quake of magnitude 6.2 strikes China’s Xinjiang, no reports of casualties

XINJIANG, China (Reuters) —  An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hit China’s far western region of Xinjiang on Thursday (December 8), the China Earthquake Administration said, with tremors shaking buildings near the epicenter about 100 km (60 miles) west of the regional capital of Urumqi. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties from the quake, which struck at a depth of 6 km (4 miles). A police office in Hutubi county where the […]

Quake of magnitude 6.2 strikes China’s Xinjiang, no reports of casualties

XINJIANG, China (Reuters) — An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 hit China’s far western region of Xinjiang on Thursday (December 8), the China Earthquake Administration said, with tremors shaking buildings near the epicentre about 100 km (60 miles) west of the regional capital of Urumqi. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties from the quake, which struck at a depth of 6 km (4 miles). A police office in Hutubi county where the […]

Indonesia scours for possible survivors a day after quake kills more than 100

ACEH PROVINCE, Indonesia (Reuters) — Intensive efforts to search for possible survivors continued in Indonesia on Thursday (December 8), after a deadly quake in Aceh the previous day. The magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck on early hours of Wednesday (December 7) and killed at least 102 people, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. Pidie Jaya regency, located on the east coast of Aceh province in northern Indonesia, was the worst hit area. Search teams formed […]

Pakistan plane carrying 48 crashes killing all on board

by Gohar Abbas Agence France Presse  SADDHA BATOLNI, Pakistan (AFP) – A Pakistani plane carrying 48 people crashed Wednesday in the country’s mountainous north and burst into flames killing everyone on board, authorities said, in one of the deadliest aviation accidents in the nation’s history. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Flight PK661 came down after one of its two turboprop engines failed while travelling from the city of Chitral to Islamabad, the civil aviation authority said. Rescuers, including […]