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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Iraqi security forces were “ahead of schedule” after the first day of an offensive for the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, a Pentagon official said Monday. A US-led coalition has for months been helping train Iraqi forces for the fight for Mosul — the last IS stronghold in Iraq — and the military offensive finally got underway early Monday. “Early indications are that Iraqi forces have met their objectives so […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck China’s northwestern province of Qinghai on Monday, the US Geological Survey reported, in an area frequently plagued with seismic activity. The quake was 32 kilometres (20 miles) deep, USGS said, with its epicentre in a sparsely-populated area of Yushu prefecture. There was a “low likelihood of casualties and damage”, it said. Yushu was the scene of a 6.9-magnitude earthquake in April 2010 that left nearly 2,700 people dead […]
HANOI, Vietnam | AFP | — Severe flooding in central Vietnam has killed at least 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes, officials said Monday, as the country braced for further destruction with a typhoon barrelling closer. Images from flood-hit provinces showed houses almost completely submerged and people paddling down waterlogged streets following heavy rain that started last week. Four people are still missing after the deluge, which destroyed or damaged more than 240,000 […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea on Monday, officials said, but no Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued. The tremor was estimated at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) in the New Britain region of the country, some 418 kilometres northeast of the capital Port Moresby, the United States Geological Survey said. © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
by Natalia Ramos SAO PAULO, Brazil | AFP | — At least 25 inmates died Sunday in clashes between two rival factions in a prison in far northern Brazil, the latest episode of violence shaking the country’s underfunded and overcrowded prison system. Seven of the dead were beheaded and six burned to death in fighting at a prison in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state, the news site G1 reported, citing local police. […]
DABIQ, Syria (AFP) — Turkish-backed rebels capture the emblematic northern Syrian town of Dabiq from the Islamic State group, dealing a major symbolic blow to the jihadists. https://youtu.be/m3X3I0dcXkg
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan has barred all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from airplanes, mirroring moves by US regulators and a string of carriers that banned the recalled devices over fire risk concerns. The weekend announcement from Japan’s transport ministry follows an earlier warning that asked airlines to urge passengers not to turn on or charge the smartphones on aircraft. But aviation authorities went a step further on Saturday, ordering airlines to ban the […]
Hospitals are among the buildings destroyed in southwestern Haiti which was devastated by Hurricane Matthew earlier this month, complicating efforts to treat the injured, cholera patients and pregnant women. A team from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) set out for the hurricane ravaged southwest peninsula of Haiti on Saturday (October 15) to assess the damage with one team focusing on maternity clinics in the region. UNFPA is a United Nations organization that focuses on […]
(Reuters) A bridge connecting two small islands near the Indonesian resort island of Bali collapsed on Sunday (October 16) killing eight people and injuring 34 others, officials said. There were too many people passing over the bridge for a religious ceremony when it collapsed at 6 PM local time, police officer Arendra Wahyudi said, adding some motorbikes also fell into the water. The sea beneath the bridge was less than two meters deep, Wahyudi said, […]
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni Shrine for war dead on Monday (October 17) to mark the annual autumn festival of the shrine. The shrine is seen in China and the two Koreas as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism. Past visits by Japanese leaders to Yasukuni have outraged Beijing and Seoul because it honors 14 Japanese leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — An explosion almost immediately after launch was behind the failure of North Korea’s latest test-firing of a powerful medium-range missile, the South Korean military confirmed Monday. North Korea tested a Musudan missile — capable of hitting US bases as far away as Guam — shortly after midday Saturday near an air base in the northwestern city of Kusong. Such launches are usually reported within a few hours or even minutes […]
HONGKONG, China (Reuters) — The oldest giant panda living in captivity, 38-year-old Jia Jia, was euthanized in Hong Kong after rapidly deteriorating health over the past two weeks, her owners Ocean Park said on Sunday. Jia Jia, whose name means “good”, had been gifted to Hong Kong in 1999 along with another panda, to mark the second anniversary of the city’s handover from former colonial ruler Britain. In recent weeks Jia Jia’s food consumption had […]
