CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Six people were killed and 15 injured when a leaking oil pipeline caught fire in Egypt’s northern province of Bahira on Wednesday, officials said. The head of Egypt’s oil pipelines authority, Abdelmoneim Hafez, said the leak was the work of “thieves” siphoning off oil. The fire broke out on the pipeline near Itay al-Baroud, a village half-way between Cairo and Alexandria, health ministry spokesman Khaled Mugahed said in a statement. The […]
International
Mainland China students flee Hong Kong over protest violence fears
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Mainland Chinese students have begun fleeing Hong Kong campuses over security fears, police and university officials said Wednesday, as the city’s seething political crisis saw some of its worst violence this week. The most intense clashes on Tuesday occurred at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where pitched battles were fought with the police firing tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets and protesters throwing petrol bombs and bricks, […]
Chaos in Hong Kong as pro-democracy protests ‘blossom everywhere’
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Pro-democracy protesters Wednesday stepped up a “blossom everywhere” campaign of road blocks and vandalism across Hong Kong that has crippled the international financial hub this week and ignited some of the worst violence in five months of unrest. The new phase in the crisis, which has forced schools and shopping malls to close as well as the shutdown of large chunks of the vital train network, prompted police to […]
Disgraced Catholic Cardinal Pell gets last chance to appeal sex abuse convictions
CANBERRA, Australia (AFP) — Disgraced Catholic Cardinal George Pell was handed a final chance to clear his name Wednesday, when Australia’s top court agreed to allow his appeal against convictions for child abuse. The 78-year-old former Vatican treasurer is currently serving a six-year jail sentence for molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s, but continues to deny any wrongdoing. Justice Michelle Gordon — in a statement that took less than […]
Venice underwater as exceptional tide sweeps through canal city
by Ella IDE VENICE, Italy (AFP) — Venice was hit by the highest tide in more than 50 years late Tuesday, with tourists wading through flooded streets to seek shelter as a fierce wind whipped up waves in St. Mark’s Square. The exceptionally intense “acqua alta,” or high waters, peaked at 1.87 meters (six feet) as the flood alarm sounded across the Italian city of canals, the tide monitoring center said. “We’re currently facing an […]
Bolivia: Death toll up to seven in post-election unrest
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Seven people died in Bolivia in violence that broke out after Evo Morales was declared the winner of a recent presidential election, the attorney general said Tuesday. Four of those fatalities were from gunfire, Juan Lanchipa said. Until now, the toll was three dead. Morales resigned Sunday and went into exile in Mexico on Tuesday. “All of these cases will be investigated until we establish the truth and find out […]
Australia bushfire threat still high after narrow escape
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia escaped the worst-feared impacts of bushfires during a day of “catastrophic” conditions but the threat remains high, with dozens of fires still blazing and expectations of a brutal summer ahead. More than 300 new fires — including 19 that reached emergency level — were sparked Tuesday during high temperatures, gusting winds and dry conditions that were described as the worst on record. Thousands of firefighters deployed to combat the fires […]
Italy hit by heavy rains, flooding in Venice
by Franck IOVENE ROME, Italy (AFP) — Powerful rainstorms hit Italy on Tuesday, with the worst affected areas in the south and Venice, where there was widespread flooding. The heavy rainfall closed schools in several southern cities including Taranto, Brindisi, and Matera, as well as the Sicilian cities of Pozzallo and Noto, according to the national weather service. In Matera, this year’s European Capital of Culture, a tornado caused trees and lamp posts to fall, […]
Hong Kong clashes rage on university campus and business district
by Su Xinqi and Jerome Taylor HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters fought intense battles with riot police on a university campus and paralyzed the city’s upmarket business district Tuesday, extending one of the most violent stretches of unrest seen in more than five months of political chaos. The confrontations followed a particularly brutal day on Monday when police shot a protester and a man was set on fire, prompting calls from […]
Johnson sends 100 troops to help UK flood victims
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday the army would deploy 100 troops in northern England to deal with widespread flooding, after facing criticism from his election rivals over the government’s response. Conservative leader Johnson, campaigning to remain in Downing Street after next month’s general election, made the decision after chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee. The move followed Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the main opposition […]
Huge fire at Kenya hospital forces evacuation of 100 patients
NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — A massive fire at the oldest hospital in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa forced the evacuation of around 100 patients late Tuesday, the police and Kenyan Red Cross said. Coast regional police commander Rashid Yakub said: “We have established that fire started as a result of a gas cylinder that exploded”. “But luckily we have no casualties because all patients and staff were evacuated in time,” he said. Kenya Red […]
51 children injured in chemical attack at China kindergarten
BEIJING, China (AFP) — More than 50 people, mostly children, were injured by a man who broke into a kindergarten in southwest China and sprayed them with corrosive liquid, local authorities said Tuesday. The suspect, a 23-year-old surnamed Kong, entered the kindergarten by climbing a wall before spraying victims with sodium hydroxide, said local authorities in Kaiyuan city, Yunnan province. The attack took place on Monday at 3:35 pm (0735 GMT), authorities said on […]
