A wildfire raged for a third day through high chaparral and timber in the Santa Cruz mountains southeast of San Francisco on Wednesday (September 28), threatening hundreds of structures after destroying at least one home and several outbuildings. The blaze, dubbed the Loma fire, has scorched more than 2,200 acres since erupting on Monday in rugged, drought-parched terrain in Santa Clara County, forcing an unspecified number of mandatory evacuations in the area, fire officials said. […]
International
Quake jolts Nicaragua, one dead
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) — A 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Nicaragua on Wednesday, killing a woman and damaging homes close the epicenter in the country’s north, officials said. The quake struck at 1048 am (1648 GMT) in the area between the El Hoyo and Momotombo volcanoes, at a shallow depth of 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles). The woman, Higinia Margarita Cruz, suffered a heart attack from the shock of the shaking, said First Lady Rosario Murillo, who is also […]
Spain’s Cabify launches helicopter service to transport people around Mexico City
Spanish private auto taxi service operator Cabify launched its CabiFLY Shuttle air taxi service in Mexico City on Wednesday (September 28) together with Helitour operator, with a fleet of Bell helicopters. The company said in a news release, CabiFLY Shuttle, is the first shuttle air service of its type, offering point to point, round trips for 1 to 5 people from Mexico City’s International Airport to the Miditel Heliport, located in the upscale neighbourhood of […]
Obama urges Americans to vote for Clinton
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Barack Obama urged US voters to put Hillary Clinton in the White House, warning that sitting out the November 8 election would support Donald Trump, who is “unqualified” for the job. “If you don’t vote, that’s a vote for Trump,” he said of the Republican nominee during a radio interview on the Steve Harvey Morning Show that aired Wednesday. “If you vote for a third-party candidate who’s got no […]
British royals learn about the history of the Yukon in Canada
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continued their tour of Canada on Wednesday (September 28) with a visit to the MacBride Museum of Yukon History in Whitehorse. The Queen and Duke of Duke of Edinburgh visited the same museum back in 1959 when it was a telegraph office. After visiting the Museum, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watched children sing songs. The royal couple were cheered by big crowds as they made their way […]
OPEC reaches first deal to cut oil output since 2008
OPEC agreed on Wednesday (September 28) to cut its oil output for the first time since 2008, with the group’s leader Saudi Arabia softening its stance on arch-rival Iran amid mounting pressure from low oil prices. Past attempts to reach an output deal have been complicated by political rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which are fighting several proxy-wars in the Middle East, including in Syria and Yemen. The agreement represents a strategy shift for […]
Health workers, hospitals targeted in Syria war
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) – Numerous doctors and nurses and medical facilities have been hit or targeted by missiles or air strikes since the start of the conflict in Syria in March 2011. The latest case came when an air strike and artillery fire hit the two largest hospitals in rebel-held parts of Syria’s Aleppo overnight, in what rights groups said was a deliberate strategy of targeting civilian infrastructure. “Let us be clear. Those using ever […]
US Senate votes to override Obama’s 9/11 bill veto
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – by Andrew BEATTY The US Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to override Barack Obama’s veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, the first such rebuke of his eight-year presidency. In a landmark 97-1 vote backing the override, only outgoing Obama ally, Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, voted against it, teeing up a similar vote in the House of Representatives later Wednesday. The rare act of bipartisanship is a severe […]
US to send about 600 more troops to Iraq for Mosul offensive
ALBUQUERQUE, United States (AFP) – by Thomas WATKINS The United States is sending about 600 extra troops to Iraq to train local forces for an upcoming offensive on the Islamic State group stronghold of Mosul, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday. IS seized Mosul along with other areas in June 2014, but the country’s forces have since regained significant ground from the jihadists and are readying for a drive to retake Iraq’s second largest city. “These […]
US threatens to end cooperation unless Russia stops Aleppo assault
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) – by Karam al-Masri with Maya Gebeily in Beirut The United States threatened Wednesday to suspend its engagement with Russia over the conflict in Syria following escalating attacks on rebel-held parts of Aleppo city, including strikes on two hospitals. UN chief Ban Ki-moon denounced the attacks — which saw the two largest hospitals in Aleppo’s opposition-controlled east hit with air strikes and artillery fire — as “war crimes”. President Bashar al-Assad’s forces […]
Turkey jails 32,000 in coup probe as mass trials loom
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Stuart WILLIAMS Turkey said Wednesday that courts have placed 32,000 suspects under arrest on charges of links to a group run by the US-based preacher blamed for July’s failed coup, as the country braces for the most extensive trials in its history. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told NTV television that 70,000 people had been investigated after the attempted putsch on July 15, 32,000 of them remanded in custody. “This process […]
Billionaire Elon Musk outlines plans for humans to colonize Mars
(REUTERS) SpaceX is developing a massive rocket and capsule to transport large numbers of people and cargo to Mars with the ultimate goal of colonizing the planet, company chief and tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday. Musk outlined his plans for the Mars rocket, capable of carrying 100 passengers plus cargo per voyage, even as SpaceX is still investigating why a different rocket carrying a $200 million Israeli satellite blew up on a […]
