QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — A concrete wall collapsed and crushed several vehicles in southern Ecuador early Wednesday, killing at least five people, four of them children, emergency services said. “A total of four injured and five dead,” the emergency services said in a statement after rescue workers recovered the bodies from the rubble in Las Lomas, in the southern province of Azuay. Authorities said the dead were two females, aged 37 and seven, and three […]
International
No nuke tests during queen visit, Major urged Chirac
by Robin MILLARD Agence France-Presse British urged France not to conduct controversial nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific while Queen Elizabeth II was in New Zealand, newly released government files showed Tuesday. The then-prime minister, John Major, told president Jacques Chirac nuclear tests would put the monarch in an “invidious position”, as nearby New Zealand’s head of state, according to the declassified documents from the National Archives. The underground tests were conducted on Moruroa atoll […]
Microsoft seizes web domains used by North Korean hackers
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Microsoft said Monday it obtained a court order allowing it to seize web domains used by North Korean hacking groups to launch cyber attacks on human rights activists, researchers and others. The US technology giant said a federal court allowed it to take control of 50 domains operated by a group dubbed Thallium, which tricked online users by fraudulently using Microsoft brands and trademarks. “This network was used to target victims […]
Thousands trapped on Australia beach encircled by fire
by Andrew BEATTY Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were trapped on a beach in fire-ravaged southeast Australia Tuesday, as blazes ringed a popular tourist area leaving no escape by land. As many as four thousand people are trapped on the foreshore of the encircled seaside town of Mallacoota, as smoke turned day to night and the authorities said nearby fires were causing extreme thunderstorms and “ember attacks”. […]
Winter storm cancels flights in eastern Canada
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — A winter storm in eastern Canada led to the cancellation of nearly 200 flights on Monday. The mix of snow and freezing rain disrupted both departures and arrivals at airports in Montreal, the capital Ottawa, and the country’s largest city Toronto, an AFP count showed. Worst-affected was Montreal-Trudeau International Airport with more than 100 cancellations, mostly to Ontario and the northeast United States, an airport spokesperson told AFP. Snow accumulations […]
Tourists at risk as heatwave fuels Australia bushfires
Sydney, Australia (AFP) — Thousands of tourists risked being stranded in Australia’s south east Monday, as a new heatwave left firefighters across the country bracing for another round of potentially catastrophic bushfire. Hundreds of blazes are burning across Australia, which is experiencing a devastating summer bushfire season fueled by a prolonged drought and climate change. More than 30,000 people were told to evacuate Victoria state’s popular East Gippsland region Sunday amid fears soaring temperatures and gusting winds […]
Hong Kong stocks open with gains
Hong Kong, China (AFP) — Hong Kong stocks rose Monday morning, building on last week’s gains fueled by easing trade tensions and positive sentiment on Wall Street. The Hang Seng index added 1.30 percent, or 361.21 points, to 28,225.42 in early trade. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.23 percent, or 6.87 points lower, at 2,998.17 on Monday. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, lost 0.37 percent, or 6.26 points, to […]
US hits pro-Iran group with deadly strikes in Iraq, Syria
Baghdad, Iraq (AFP) — The US carried out air strikes against a pro-Iran militant group in Iraq Sunday, killing 19 fighters, two days after a rocket attack that killed an American civilian contractor. A few hours after the strikes, four rockets exploded near a base housing US troops close to Iraq’s capital without wounding anyone, an Iraqi security official told AFP. The US strikes, which also hit Syria, came after a barrage of 30 or more rockets […]
N. Korea’s Kim holds top party meeting ahead of US deadline
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has convened a key meeting of top ruling party officials, state media said Sunday, ahead of a year-end deadline for Washington to shift its stance on stalled nuclear talks. The plenary session, which opened on Saturday, follows widespread speculation that Pyongyang is preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic missile — as a threatened “Christmas gift” for Washington. Kim presided over the meeting which discussed a […]
Tourists, firefighters flee as new heatwave fans Australia blazes
by Holly ROBERTSON Agence France Presse Tourists and firefighters were forced to flee vast fires burning in southeastern Australia on Monday, as a heatwave rekindled devastating bush blazes across the country. Authorities said “quite a number” of the 30,000 tourists visiting the usually picturesque southeast tip of the continent had heeded calls to evacuate. More than a dozen blazes are raging in the East Gippsland countryside, some so intensely that hundreds of firefighters were pulled […]
Nearly 2,000 evacuated, one missing as ‘scary’ cyclone hammers Fiji
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Nearly 2,000 people took refuge in emergency shelters and one man was missing after being swept away in floodwaters as Tropical Cyclone Sarai pounded Fiji on Saturday causing widespread damage. National Disaster Management Office Director Vasiti Soko urged locals and the thousands of tourists in Fiji not to be reckless as Sarai lashed the Pacific island nation with heavy rain and destructive winds. With wind gusts strengthening to 150 kilometres […]
Plane crashes into house in Kazakhstan killing 14
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AFP) — At least 14 people died Friday when a passenger plane carrying 100 people crashed into a house shortly after takeoff from Kazakhstan’s largest city, authorities said. The Bek Air plane “fell off the radar” minutes after it took off from Almaty airport at 7.05 am (01:05 GMT) on its way to the capital, Nur-Sultan, the airport authority said in a statement. “There are 14 dead at the (crash) site,” the city […]
