International

Thai military court accepts case against ‘Facebook Eight’

  (REUTERS)   A Thai military court accepted a case on Tuesday against eight people charged with ridiculing junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha on Facebook, extending a crackdown against dissent after Thais voted earlier this month to accept a military-backed charter. The outcome of the Aug. 7 referendum bolstered the credibility of the military government, say analysts, but the overwhelming vote in favor of the new constitution was unsurprising given the curbs on free speech ahead of […]

Australian unearths ‘beast’ of a truffle

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — An Australian has uncovered what is thought to be the largest black truffle ever discovered in the country, a 1,511-gram (53.3-ounce) monster that could also be a world-beater.  Stuart Dunbar said he had known since February that a truffle had been growing in the spot where it was found, but its ripening aroma in warmer weather meant he started digging last Thursday. He said he had no idea of the size of […]

Japanese father kills son over studies

TOKYO, Japan  (AFP) — A Japanese father stabbed his 12-year-old son to death after complaining the boy was failing to study for a school entrance exam,  media said Tuesday.  Kengo Satake, the boy’s 48-year-old father, told police that he “argued with his son for not studying” before a test to enter a private junior high school, public broadcaster NHK reported.  Competition for entry to the best schools in Japan is intense. Admission to a prestigious one […]

Clinton says U.S. presidential election an “alternative reality”

  (REUTERS) — Democrat Hillary Clinton said on a late-night television show on Monday (August 22) that sometimes she feels she is in an “alternative universe” in the U.S. presidential race against Republican Donald Trump. “I do feel sometimes like this campaign has entered into an alternative universe,” Clinton said on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. “I have to step into the alternative reality, answer questions about am I alive, how much longer will I be […]

Indian man blames ‘spiritual powers’ for swallowing 40 knives

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — An Indian policeman who spent two months swallowing knives and had 40 of them surgically removed said Tuesday that “spiritual powers” made him do it. The father of two underwent a successful five-hour operation to remove the knives from his stomach in the northern city of Amritsar after complaining to doctors of severe abdomen pain. “I don’t know why I did it but there was some spiritual power behind it,” […]

Deaf driver shot dead by US police during traffic stop

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Authorities in the southern US state of North Carolina said Monday they are investigating the death of a deaf man who was fatally shot after a trooper tried to pull him over for speeding. Daniel Harris, 29, who used sign language to communicate, led trooper Jermaine Saunders on an eight-mile (13-kilometer) chase on Thursday that started on an interstate highway and ended outside his home in Charlotte, local television station […]

Syrian doctor confirms death of brother of Syrian boy pictured in Aleppo

ALEPPO, Syria —  The doctor who treated Ali Daqneesh, the brother of the Syrian boy whose image after an air strike shocked the world, explained why they were unable to save him. Ten-year-old Ali was wounded in Wednesday’s air strike (August 17) in Aleppo. A still photograph of Ali from his hospital bed shortly before his death has been released. The doctor who treated Ali said the boy had suffered serious injuries as he had […]

Typhoon Mindulle dumps heavy rain on northern Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A strong typhoon dumped heavy rain that caused flooding on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido on Tuesday after killing one person near Tokyo and injuring dozens. Typhoon Mindulle, which made landfall near Japan’s capital on Monday, flooded rivers, submerged roads and damaged farms in Hokkaido, TV footage showed. A woman in Sagamihara city outside Tokyo died on Monday as a result of the storm, according to the Kanagawa prefecture government. Neither […]

Clinton’s health: Trump’s sharpening focus of attack

by Jennie MATTHEW NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — On the skids in the polls and under fire for not releasing his tax returns, Donald Trump’s campaign is sharpening a new attack on Hillary Clinton: claiming she is not healthy enough to serve as president. The Internet is awash with conspiracy theories claiming that she may have a brain tumor, Parkinson’s or dementia, or complaining that she has “seizure-like facial expressions” or allegedly twitches. Trump, […]

Turkey backtracks on ‘IS child bomber’ claims

by Raziye AKKOC with Stuart WILLIAMS in Istanbul ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey on Monday went back on claims that a child bomber linked to Islamic State (IS) jihadists carried out a deadly suicide bombing close to Syria, saying it had no clue who was behind the attack. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Ankara could not confirm who was the perpetrator of the attack on a Kurdish wedding in the city of Gaziantep which […]

Trump demands closure of ‘corrupt’ Clinton Foundation

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump on Monday demanded that Hillary Clinton shut down the charitable foundation founded by her husband, former US president Bill Clinton, branding it a “corrupt enterprise.” “The Clintons have spent decades as insiders lining their own pockets and taking care of donors instead of the American people,” the Republican presidential candidate said in a statement. “It is now clear that the Clinton Foundation is the most corrupt enterprise in […]

Canada’s Justin Trudeau defends the burkini

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday defended individual rights and freedoms while touting cultural diversity and tolerance when asked about a controversy swirling in France over a burkini ban. “We should be past tolerance in Canada,” Trudeau told reporters after meeting with his ministers to plan the government’s legislative agenda. Some lawmakers in Canada’s Quebec province have called for outlawing “burkinis” — body-concealing Islamic swimsuits — following bans in at […]