BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — At least eight people were killed in a rocket attack on Baghdad airport, Iraqi security sources said Friday, days after a pro-Iran mob laid siege to the American embassy. “Three rockets hit the international airport in Baghdad,” said a statement from the Iraqi military, adding that two cars exploded. At least eight people died, added a security official who asked to remain anonymous. © Agence France-Presse
International
Trump trounces Democratic rivals in election fundraising
by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump’s re-election team revealed on Thursday that he is sitting atop a staggering campaign war chest, underlining the scale of the challenge facing the US president’s Democratic rivals at the start of an election year. The sprawling Democratic field meanwhile lost another candidate when Julian Castro, the only Hispanic in the 2020 field, announced he was ending his bid. That leaves 14 candidates still in the […]
Taiwan’s military chief killed in chopper crash
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s military chief was killed in a helicopter crash on Thursday, the defense ministry said, just days before the island goes to polls to elect a new president. The chief of the general staff, Shen Yi-ming, was among eight senior officers — including three major-generals — who died when their Black Hawk helicopter smashed into mountains near Taipei. The 62-year-old general and his entourage were on a routine mission to visit […]
Children among 18 killed in Sudan military plane crash: army
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) –Four children were among 18 people killed Thursday when a Sudanese military transport plane crashed after takeoff from West Darfur state, an army spokesman said. The plane crashed five minutes after takeoff from an airport in the state capital El Geneina, after delivering aid to the area, which had been hit by recent deadly tribal fighting. “An Antonov 12 military plane crashed Thursday night after take off from El Geneina killing its […]
Ghosn used one of two French passports to flee: media
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon to avoid a Japanese trial, was carrying one of his two French passports, local media said Thursday, as Japan launched a probe into the embarrassing security lapse. Ghosn, who faces multiple charges of financial misconduct that he denies, won bail in April but with strict conditions, including a bar on overseas travel. His lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka has said lawyers hold […]
Australia orders evacuation of fire-ravaged towns before heatwave
by Holly Robertson SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia authorized the forced evacuation of residents Thursday amid a mass exodus of tourists from fire-ravaged coastal communities, as the country braces for a weekend heatwave expected to fan deadly bushfires. Catastrophic blazes ripped through the country’s south-east on New Year’s Eve, killing at least eight people and stranding holidaymakers. New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a seven-day state of emergency that allows for forced evacuations […]
Singapore economy grew just 0.7 pct in 2019: government
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Singapore’s economy, a closely watched barometer for the rest of Asia’s export-driven countries, grew just 0.7 percent last year as the US-China trade war hammered global markets. The city-state has traditionally been the first among Asia’s economies to be affected during a downturn, and the country narrowly escaped tipping into recession in the third quarter. The trade ministry said in a statement Thursday that based on advance estimates, the economy […]
Indonesia floods leave two dozen dead, several missing: official
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s disaster agency warned Thursday of more deaths after torrential rains pounded the Jakarta region, triggering floods and landslides that killed at least 23 and left vast swaths of the megalopolis underwater. Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters in the area, home to some 30 million, with scores of homes damaged. Images from across the region showed waterlogged homes and cars covered in muddy […]
Captain, 7 crew abducted from Greek oil tanker in Cameroon port
by Hélène COLLIOPOULOU / Jean-Baptiste KETCHATENG DOUALA, Cameroon (AFP) — Armed men staged a night raid on a Greek oil tanker anchored in a Cameroonian port and abducted eight crewmen, including the vessel’s Greek captain, the merchant marine ministry and the ship’s owner said Tuesday. The five Greeks, two Filipinos, and a Ukrainian were part of a 28-member crew aboard the Happy Lady in the port of Limbe, near the economic capital Douala, the ministry […]
Massive Hong Kong pro-democracy rally ends in police clashes
by Yan ZHAO / Xinqi SU HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A huge New Year’s Day pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong ended in mass arrests and clashes between police and hardcore protesters, as demonstrators sought to carry their movement’s momentum into 2020. Hong Kong has been battered by nearly seven months of unrest — its biggest political crisis in decades — which has seen millions come out on the streets demanding greater democratic freedoms. Organizers […]
North Korea ends test moratoriums, threatens ‘new’ weapon
by Sebastien BERGER SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared an end to moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and threatened a demonstration of a “new strategic weapon” soon. Analysts said the announcement, reported by state media on Wednesday, amounted to Kim putting a missile “to Donald Trump’s head” — but warned that escalation by Pyongyang would probably backfire. Washington was swift to respond, with Secretary of […]
Australia scrambles to reach thousands stranded by bushfires
by Holly ROBERTSON SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Relief supplies began reaching thousands of people stranded in fire-ravaged Australian towns Wednesday after deadly bushfires ripped through popular tourist spots and rural areas leaving at least eight people dead. Navy ships and military aircraft were deployed alongside emergency crews to provide humanitarian relief and assess the damage from the deadliest spate of blazes yet in a months-long bushfire crisis. Police said three more bodies were discovered Wednesday, […]
