International

China slams ‘provocative’ US sail-by in South China Sea

  BEIJING, China | AFP | — China has slammed the US for sailing a warship near disputed territory in the South China Sea, saying the move was a “serious illegal act” and “deliberately provocative”. In a statement on its website late Friday night, the country’s defence ministry said two Chinese naval vessels warned off a US ship after it entered “Chinese territorial waters” near the Paracel Islands, known as Xisha in Chinese. China controls […]

Huge waves surge as Typhoon Haima lands in south China

GUANGDONG, China (CCTV) — Huge waves of more than 10-meters tall lashed the wharf in Shanwei, Guangdong Province of south China, as Haima, the 22nd typhoon of the year, landed on Friday afternoon. Live video footage shows the scene like that in a disaster film, when titan cranes at the wharf were smashed and shaken by the monstrous waves. Meanwhile, in Huizhou Prefecture, local authorities have ordered the closure of all scenic spots, evacuated tourists to […]

Suicide attackers kill 16 at Iraq power plant: officials

KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) — Suicide attackers stormed the site of a power plant being built by an Iranian company in Dibis in northern Iraq on Friday, killing at least 16 people, the mayor and security officials said. “Three suicide bombers attacked the power plant at around 6:00 am (0300 GMT), killing 12 Iraqi administrators and engineers and four Iranian technicians,” Dibis mayor Abdullah Nureddin al-Salehi told AFP. © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

6.2 quake hits western Japan: USGS

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit western Japan Friday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami risk. The quake, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), struck shortly after 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) in Tottori prefecture. Initially, the USGS had pegged the quake’s magnitude at 6.6 before downgrading it. Public broadcaster NHK quoted local officials as saying they had received reports that a house collapsed in the […]

Sniffing out gastronomic gold in Italy’s truffle country

Italy (AFP) — “It is not a job. It’s a passion, a real sickness!” says Giovanni Sacchetto, hunting for white truffles with his dog Dora in the woods around Alba in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. And he’s not alone. The region is home to some 4,000 truffle-hunters, and even more dogs who have been trained to sniff them out. https://youtu.be/aA6Y0oNeyYg

Nasty’ women swarm in support of Clinton after Trump insult

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Suddenly, it seems America is crawling with nasty women. Female unpleasantness as a tongue-in-cheek rallying cry is on T-shirts, in memes and in tweets galore — a furious backlash mocking Donald Trump’s latest insult of Hillary Clinton. Trump’s dis — “such a nasty woman” — came during one of his interruptions of his Democratic rival in Wednesday’s final presidential debate. Social media lit up as women came to Clinton’s defense. […]

UN to begin evacuations from Aleppo if truce holds

by Karam al-Masri ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — The United Nations hopes to carry out the first medical evacuations from Aleppo on Friday, if the “humanitarian pause” in the Syrian army’s Russian-backed assault on the city holds. Despite a drop in violence after the truce took effect on Thursday there was little sign civilians were heeding calls to leave, and Russia accused rebels of preventing civilians from fleeing the east of the city. Meanwhile NATO chief […]

“Baffled” US says it will seek explanation for Duterte’s comment on “separation”

  A “BAFFLED” United States said it would seek an explanation from the Philippines for President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement that it was separating from the US, saying this was at odds with the two countries’ close relationship. US State Department spokesman John Kirby said they were “obviously aware of (Duterte’s) rhetoric” and that this was “inexplicably at odds with the very close relationship that we have with the Filipino people, as well as the government […]

EU drops sanctions threat against Russia over Syria

by Danny KEMP BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — EU leaders backed down Friday from an explicit threat of sanctions against Russia over the bombing of Aleppo but warned that they would consider “all available options” if atrocities in Syria continue. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi demanded that any mention of possible punitive measures against Moscow over the Syrian carnage should be removed from a statement issued after a summit in Brussels. The climbdown underscored the deep […]

Hong Kong in lockdown as Typhoon Haima nears

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The usually frenetic streets of Hong Kong were deserted Friday as the city went into lockdown for Typhoon Haima, which has killed at least eight people in the Philippines. Flights were cancelled, roads were clear of cars and pavements empty, with schools and offices shut as the storm loomed southeast of Hong Kong. Trading on the city’s stock exchange was postponed and was unlikely to resume Friday. At 8:00 am […]

Trump says will only accept ‘clear election result’

DELAWARE, United States (AFP) — Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump said Thursday that he would accept a “clear election result” next month, but reserved the right to challenge the outcome if he felt it was “questionable.” Trump stuck firm to his unprecedented defiance of US democratic norms, telling supporters: “I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win.” But he went on to say: “I will […]