MULTAN, Pakistan (AFP) — At least four people were killed and more than 100 injured when two trains collided in central Pakistan early Thursday, officials said. The accident occurred near the city of Multan when a Karachi-bound passenger train rammed into a goods train which had stopped after running over a man crossing the railway track. “At least four people have been killed and scores others wounded,” local district administration official Nadir Chattha told reporters. […]
Asia
Survival chances ‘pretty good’ for Israel’s Peres: doctor
JERUSALEM, Israel (AFP) — The chances of survival for former Israeli president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres are “pretty good”, his personal doctor and son-in-law said Wednesday after the 93-year-old suffered a major stroke. “His condition is critical but stable,” Raphy Walden told journalists on a conference call. “Chances of survival are pretty good.” © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
Strongest typhoon of the year Meranti hits Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Parts of Taiwan were brought to a standstill Wednesday as the strongest typhoon of the year skirted past the island’s southern tip, knocking out power for more than 180,000 households. Although super typhoon Meranti did not make landfall, the storm brought record strong winds and torrential rains to eastern and southern Taiwan. At 0215 GMT, Meranti was 30 kilometers southwest of southernmost Hengchun township, packing gusts of up to 263 kilometers […]
N. Korea says US pushing peninsula to ‘explosion’
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of pushing the Korean Peninsula to “the point of explosion” after it dispatched two huge bombers in a show of force against Pyongyang. The supersonic B-1B Lancers flew over South Korea Tuesday as Washington vowed its “unshakeable commitment” to defend its allies in the region following North Korea’s fifth and largest-ever nuclear test conducted last week. Washington called the demonstration “just one […]
Israel ex-president Peres suffers ‘major’ stroke
by Joe Dyke with Mike Smith in Jerusalem RAMAT GAN, Israel (AFP) — Former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres, the last of Israel’s founding fathers, suffered a “major” stroke and was breathing with the aid of a respirator in intensive care early Wednesday. Nationwide concern mounted over the condition of 93-year-old Peres, widely respected as an elder statesman both in Israel and abroad. Peres suffered “a major stroke today with a component […]
Taiwan braces for super typhoon Meranti
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) –Taiwan braced for approaching super typhoon Meranti on Tuesday, evacuating nearly 1,800 tourists from offshore islands and closing some schools and offices. Meranti is expected to skirt past the island’s southern tip, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds from late Tuesday, the Central Weather Bureau said. “Typhoon Meranti is maintaining its strength and speed, and its impact will be the strongest on Wednesday and early Thursday,” said forecaster Hung Jen-sheng. The super typhoon […]
N. Korea floods ‘major, complex disaster’: Red Cross
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is experiencing a “major and complex disaster” the Red Cross has warned, after floods killed scores of people and left tens of thousands in need of urgent help. Rescue workers are struggling to reach stricken communities in the country’s far north, where thousands have been left homeless, and the risk of disease is looming. “From what we saw, it is clear that this is a very major and […]
US bombers in show of force against N. Korea
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (AFP) — Two huge US strategic bombers flew over South Korea on Tuesday in a show of force against North Korea following Pyongyang’s fifth and largest-ever nuclear test. The supersonic B-1B Lancers reached airspace over the US Osan Air Base at Pyeongtaek, 64 kilometres (40 miles) south of Seoul, at around 10:00 am (0100 GMT). Each aircraft, which had flown from the US Pacific Command’s Andersen Airforce base at Guam, was escorted by US […]
China, Russia to stage military drills in S.China Sea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China and Russia were to start war games in the South China Sea on Monday, Beijing’s defense ministry said, in a show of force after an international tribunal invalidated the Asian giant’s extensive claims in the area. The eight-day joint drills will include exercises on “seizing and controlling” islands and shoals, Chinese navy spokesman Liang Yang said in a statement. They will involve surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters, marine […]
‘Last chance’ Syria ceasefire takes effect
by Karam al-Masri and Maher al-Mounes ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — A US- and Russia-brokered ceasefire dubbed by Washington as maybe the “last chance to save Syria” took effect at sundown on Monday, amid scepticism over how long it would hold. An initial 48-hour truce came into force at 7:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) across Syria except in areas held by jihadists such as the Islamic State group. AFP correspondents in Syria’s devastated second city […]
N. Korea flood death toll rises to 133 with 395 missing: UN
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – Severe flooding in a North Korean border region has killed at least 133 people with hundreds more missing, according to the UN, which said the scale of the disaster was “beyond anything experienced” by local officials. Some 107,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the area along the Tumen River, the world body said in a statement received Monday which cited Pyongyang government figures. The North’s official media has described the […]
N. Korea ready for another nuclear test
Seoul, South Korea—North Korea has completed preparations for another nuclear test in a previously unused tunnel at its Punggye-ri site, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Monday. The North on Friday conducted its fifth and most powerful atomic test, just eight months after its previous one. “We have detected signs that North Korea has finished preparations to conduct a nuclear test at any time in the third tunnel at its Punggye-ri test site,” Yonhap […]
