International

Australians trapped by bushfires told ‘too late to leave’

by Daniel DE CARTERET / with Holly Robertson in Winmalee HILLVILLE, Australia (AFP) — Dozens of fires fanned by gale-force winds, scorching temperatures and tinder-dry bushland burned out of control in eastern Australia on Tuesday, as residents up and down the coast were warned it was now too late to leave. Thousands of firefighters had spread out across New South Wales in anticipation of what they called “off the scale” fire risk and “catastrophic” conditions, […]

Morales leaves for Mexico as Bolivia military pledges to tackle violence

by Francisco JARA LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Evo Morales left Bolivia Monday for Mexico, which has granted him political asylum, as the armed forces agreed to help police curb violence that has erupted after the president’s stunning resignation left a power vacuum. The senator set to succeed Morales as interim president, Jeanine Anez, pledged to call fresh elections to end the political crisis. The United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) earlier […]

Protesters hit Hong Kong commute as western powers urge restraint

by Jerome Taylor and Su Xinqi HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong protesters struck the city’s transport network for a second day running on Tuesday as western powers voiced concern over spiraling violence after police shot a young demonstrator and another man was set on fire. Small bands of masked protesters blocked roads, threw objects onto train tracks and held up subway trains, sparking cat and mouse clashes with riot police and renewed chaos […]

15 dead as trains collide in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — At least 15 people were killed and 58 others injured when two trains collided in eastern Bangladesh early Tuesday, police said. Three coaches were sent tumbling off the tracks at Mondolbhag station in the town of Kasba when a Dhaka-bound intercity train and a locomotive bound for Chittagong collided. “At least 15 people have been killed. And another 58 were injured. We have sent the injured to different hospitals in the […]

Jimmy Carter hospitalized for procedure after recent falls: statement

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former US president Jimmy Carter was hospitalized on Monday for a procedure necessitated by a series of recent falls, The Carter Center said. Carter “was admitted to Emory University Hospital this evening for a procedure to relieve pressure on his brain, caused by bleeding due to his recent falls,” The Carter Center said in a statement, adding that the procedure would take place on Tuesday morning. © Agence France-Presse

Australia readies for ‘catastrophic’ bushfires

by Holly ROBERTSON / with Daniel de Carteret in Taree, New South Wales WINMALEE, Australia (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters fanned out across eastern Australia Tuesday as gale-force winds, scorching temperatures and tinder-dry bushland brought “catastrophic” fire conditions. Dozens of bushfires were already burning out of control as temperatures were expected to climb toward 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and winds were forecast to top 60 kilometers (40 miles) per hour in parts of New […]

‘I’m back’: Brazil’s Lula fills leftist leadership void

by Louis Genot, with Jordi Miro in Brasilia RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Out of jail and full of rage, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has put his far-right nemesis President Jair Bolsonaro in the cross-hairs, as he takes up the mantle of leading the left. Declaring “I’m back” in a fiery speech to hundreds of supporters near Sao Paulo on Saturday, Lula, 74, appeared energized by his year-and-a-half-long incarceration for corruption as […]

Strong French earthquake injures four

LYON, France (AFP) — An unusually strong earthquake hit southeastern France on Monday, injuring four people, one of them seriously, authorities said. A physicist at a geophysics institute the IPGP said that quakes of this strength are rare in that region, but warned of possible aftershocks and said people should leave fragile buildings. The quake, with a magnitude of 5.4, was felt in a vast area between the cities of Lyon and Montelimar which are […]

Trump: Bolivia leader’s resignation sign to ‘illegitimate regimes’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Monday hailed the resignation of Bolivia’s leftist leader Evo Morales as a sign to “illegitimate” regimes and praised the role of the country’s military. “These events send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail,” Trump said, referring to two other leftist Latin American nations targeted by his administration. Trump said […]

3 performers stabbed on stage in Saudi capital: state TV

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Three performers were stabbed during a play in the Saudi capital Monday and the alleged assailant was arrested, state television said, in the first such incident since the kingdom opened its doors for entertainment. “Riyadh police have arrested an Arab resident in possession of a knife after he stabbed two men and a woman who were members of a theatrical group,” Al-Ekhbariya television reported. It said the injured were in […]

Police shoot protester, man set on fire in day of Hong Kong fury

  by Jerome Taylor and Su Xinqi Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A police officer shot a masked protester in an incident shown live on Facebook and a man was set on fire Monday during one of the most violent days of clashes in Hong Kong since pro-democracy unrest erupted more than five months ago. Protesters, who had already begun a city-wide day of action aimed at paralyzing the international financial hub, […]

80 Jewish graves desecrated in Denmark

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Vandals have desecrated more than 80 graves at a Jewish cemetery in the western Danish town of Randers, police said Sunday. “More than 80 gravestones were daubed with green graffiti and some were overturned” at the Ostre Kirkegard cemetery, according toa police statement. “There are no symbols or words written on the gravestones but paint has been daubed on them,” the local Ritzau news agency quoted police spokesman Bo Christensen as […]