International

MH370 plunged rapidly, not ready for landing: new report

  SYDNEY, Australia | AFP | — Flight MH370 was likely out of control when it plunged into the ocean with its wing flaps not prepared for landing, a new report said Wednesday, casting doubt on theories a pilot was still in charge. Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 carrying 239 passengers and crew. The report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the plane’s […]

Australia, Indonesia mull joint South China Sea patrols

    SYDNEY, Australia | AFP | — Australia is considering joint patrols with Indonesia in the disputed South China Sea, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday, in a move set to irk Beijing. The possibility was raised by Jakarta during meetings between Bishop and Defence Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian officials including Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu last week. “We have agreed to explore options to increase maritime cooperation and of course that would include […]

Toll in China mine blast rises to 33

BEIJING, China (AFP) — All 33 miners missing after a colliery explosion in China earlier this week have been confirmed dead, state media reported Wednesday, in the country’s latest mining accident. The bodies of the last 15 were retrieved from the Jinshangou mine in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing in the early hours, the official Xinhua news agency said. Only two workers escaped Monday’s blast alive. Though the cause of the explosion was still unknown, […]

S. Korea coastguard fires machine guns at Chinese trawlers

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean coastguard vessels have, for the first time, fired machine guns against Chinese boats illegally fishing in Korean waters, an official said Wednesday. There were no casualties reported from the incident on Tuesday, which was the first of its kind since the coastguard announced last month that it would pursue a “more aggressive” firearms policy with Chinese trawlers. Disputes over illegal fishing have dogged relations between South Korea and […]

Iraq forces fight way into Mosul

by Sarah Benhaida with Ammar Karim in Baghdad BARTALLA, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi forces fought their way into jihadist-held Mosul on Tuesday, the military said, as a top commander declared the “true liberation” of the city from the Islamic State group had begun. Just over two weeks into the massive offensive to retake Mosul — IS’s last major stronghold in Iraq — soldiers managed to push within city limits. Troops had “entered the Judaidat Al-Mufti […]

Trump targets Democratic states after shock poll boost

by Michael Mathes with Dave Clark in Washington EAU CLAIRE, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump stormed into traditionally Democratic territory on Tuesday in a last-ditch bid to open up a path to an unlikely White House win, buoyed by a shock new poll showing him edging ahead of Hillary Clinton. If Clinton was rattled by the dramatic tightening in the numbers a week before Election Day, she did not show it, barnstorming through key […]

FBI plumbs email trove, shaking White House race

by Sébastien BLANC WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — FBI agents are plumbing hundreds of thousands of emails in search of potentially incriminating evidence against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, in a high-pressure probe seven days before the US presidential election. What will come out of it and when is not known, but the impact of the FBI’s bombshell discovery of a new trove of Clinton emails is already reverberating in the neck-and-neck race for the White […]

Defiant Clinton camp doubles down on Trump, FBI

CINCINNATI, United States (AFP) – by Jennie MATTHEW Initially caught off guard, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has swung between defiance, counter-attack and painting Donald Trump as a mortal danger since the FBI director revived her email scandal. The decision, announced by James Comey in a letter to lawmakers last Friday, initially dumbfounded Clinton and her allies, throwing what was already America’s ugliest presidential election into spasms of shock. Clinton was at the time on a plane with […]

US, Russia plane near miss closest call yet over Syria: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A near miss between Russian and US warplanes over Syria this month was the closest the two air forces have come to a midair mishap in the war-torn country, the Pentagon said Monday. The incident occurred in eastern Syria on October 17, when a Russian jet that was escorting a larger spy plane maneuvered near an American warplane, coming to within half a mile (0.8 kilometer) of the US jet, […]

Syria’s Assad congratulates Lebanon’s new president

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad Monday congratulated his new Lebanese counterpart Michel Aoun on his election, hoping it would contribute to “reinforcing stability” in Lebanon, state news agency SANA said. Lebanese lawmakers earlier Monday elected the 81-year-old ex-army chief, who promised to protect the country from spillover from the five-year war in neighbouring Syria. In a phone call, “Assad congratulated General Michel Aoun on his election,” SANA said, hoping it would “contribute […]

Australia, Indonesia mull joint South China Sea patrols

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia is considering joint patrols with Indonesia in the disputed South China Sea, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday, in a move set to irk Beijing. The possibility was raised by Jakarta during meetings between Bishop and Defence Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian officials including Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu last week. “We have agreed to explore options to increase maritime cooperation and of course that would include coordinated activities in the […]

Clinton still frontrunner despite FBI emails letter: poll

WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — Democrat Hillary Clinton maintained her lead over Republican Donald Trump in their race for the White House, even in the wake of renewed scrutiny of her use of a private email server, a poll showed Monday. Barely a week from the election, the NBC News/SurveyMonkey weekly poll showed Clinton’s six-point national lead remained essentially unchanged since last week. FBI Director James Comey’s announcement on Friday of the recent discovery […]