International

UK to seek ‘unique’ deal to leave EU: PM’s spokesman

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain will seek a “unique” deal on leaving the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May’s Downing Street office said Wednesday, after ministers held their first Brexit talks since the summer break. The government wants to control immigration from the EU while retaining strong trading ties, despite warnings from other nations that single market access is incompatible with limits on the free movement of people. Britain voted to leave the EU […]

Storm bears down on Florida, hurricane threatens Hawaii

  (REUTERS)   Florida’s governor declared an emergency on Wednesday ahead of an approaching weather system that could bring life-threatening flooding and fierce winds, placing parts of the state’s Gulf Coast under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch. Storm preparations were also under way on Hawaii’s Big Island, where residents were warned of an approaching hurricane. The state’s governor ordered the closing of state offices on Wednesday. In Florida, Governor Rick Scott declared an […]

Brazil’s Senate removes President Dilma Rousseff from office

  (REUTERS)   Brazil’s Senate removed leftist President Dilma Rousseff from office on Wednesday for breaking budgetary laws, in an impeachment process that has polarized the Latin American country and paralyzed its politics for nine months. Senators voted 61-20 to convict Rousseff for illegally using money from state banks to boost public spending. Her conservative former Vice President Michel Temer, who has run the country since her suspension in May, will be sworn to serve out […]

Japan’s military seeks record spending to counter North Korea, China moves

GOTEMBA, Japan (Reuters) — Japan’s defense ministry on Wednesday (August 31) asked for a hike in spending to record levels, as it juggles its responses to a growing ballistic missile threat from North Korea and China’s assertive moves in the East China Sea. If approved, the hike of 2.3 percent will take the defense budget to 5.17 trillion yen ($51.47 billion) in the year starting April 1, for a fifth consecutive increase as Prime Minister Shinzo […]

G20 to go long on rhetoric, short on economic policy: experts

by Benjamin CARLSON BEIJING, China (AFP) — G20 leaders will meet in China this weekend in a climate of economic uncertainty and sluggish global growth –- but the absence of an urgent crisis means the forum will be short on breakthroughs, analysts say. Eight years after the first G20 summit in Washington, when countries coordinated a response to the financial meltdown, Beijing has set a modest agenda for the Hangzhou gathering — focusing on making […]

Deep 6.7 quake off Papua New Guinea

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) –A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, officials said, but no Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued. The tremor was estimated at a depth of close to 500 kilometers (around 300 miles) some 900 kilometres northeast of the capital Port Moresby, the United States Geological Survey said. “Based on all available data a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected,” the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Australian seismologists estimated the […]

Japanese police corner suspect in deadly shooting

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese gunman accused of shooting dead a construction worker and wounding three others before going on the run, was locked in a tense standoff with police on Wednesday. Yasuhide Mizobata fled into an apartment building on Tuesday afternoon after firing repeatedly at officers who challenged him, a force spokesman said. He spent the night holed up in the building, surrounded by heavily-armed police who were trying to convince him to […]

9 found dead in Japan elderly home after typhoon: police

by Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Surging flood water brought by a powerful typhoon left nine people dead in an elderly care home in Japan, officials said Wednesday. The bodies were discovered in a riverside care complex half buried in mud and rubble after Typhoon Lionrock ripped through the region, dumping torrential rain over a wide area. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed a helicopter hovering over the building in Iwaizumi, as rescuers tried to […]

Amid ruins, Italy mourns quake victims

by Andreas SOLARO AMATRICE, Italy (AFP) — Italy on Tuesday held a poignantly symbolic funeral for victims of last week’s earthquake amid the ruins of Amatrice, the small town that bore the brunt of the disaster. President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and a senior representative of Pope Francis were among hundreds of mourners at the service on the edge of the hilltop beauty spot where 231 of the quake’s 292 confirmed fatalities occurred. […]

Brush fire prompts evacuation of 700 people east of Los Angeles

A fast-growing brush fire prompted the evacuation of roughly 700 people on Tuesday (August 30) from a mobile home park and nearby community in Southern California’s Riverside County, state fire officials said. The blaze erupted shortly before 12:30 p.m. local time and charred about 400 acres of drought-parched vegetation within three hours as flames roared through canyons and foothills in the Cherry Valley area, about 75 miles east of Los Angeles. No property losses or […]

IS says spokesman Adnani killed in Syria’s Aleppo

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The Islamic State group said Tuesday its spokesman Abu Mohamed al-Adnani was killed in the Syrian province of Aleppo, as the US confirmed an IS “senior leader” was targeted in the same area. Quoting an IS “military source”, the group’s news agency Amaq said: “Sheikh Abu Mohamed al-Adnani… was martyred while surveying operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo.” It said he died after a “long voyage crowned by sacrifice” […]

Apple hit with record EU tax bill

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – by Danny KEMP The EU ordered tech giant Apple on Tuesday to pay a record 13 billion euros in back taxes in Ireland, a move Washington warned could damage hugely important transatlantic economic ties. Brussels said Apple, the world’s most valuable company, avoided virtually all tax on its business in the bloc by illegal arrangements with Dublin which gave the company an unfair advantage over competitors. Apple and the Irish government […]