International

UN’s Ban condemns Turkey wedding bombing

UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decried Sunday the suicide bombing that killed 51 people at a wedding in southeastern Turkey, and called for swift punishment for the perpetrators. “The secretary-general condemns yesterday’s terrorist attack on a wedding party in the city of Gaziantep, Turkey,” Ban’s office said in a statement. “This act, reportedly carried out by a suicide bomber, killed at least 50 people and wounded dozens of others,” […]

Washington condemns Turkey wedding bombing

WASWHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Sunday blasted the “heinous” suicide bombing that killed 51 people in Turkey, and offered its assistance to Ankara in the fight against “the scourge of terrorism.” “The United States strongly condemns yesterday’s heinous attack,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. “We extend heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of the victims and we wish a full and speedy recovery for the many […]

Rio 2016 Olympic Games draws to a close

   (REUTERS)  The closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games brings the curtain down on 16 days of spectacular global sporting achievements. Simon Biles, winner of four gold medals and one bronze, leads Team USA as its flag bearer, as the country celebrates another winning medal haul at an Olympic Games.   The power went out briefly in a section of the Maracana stadium and parts of the surrounding neigborhoods minutes before the Olympics […]

Hundreds swelter in Hong Kong protests at perceived election meddling

  (Reuters)  Hundreds of protesters rallied on Sunday against Hong Kong’s disqualification of six candidates from legislative elections, the latest outpouring of anger at a perceived tightening grip on the city’s freedoms by China. The former British colony was handed back to China in 1997 under an agreement that gave ultimate control to Communist Party rulers in Beijing while promising Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy. But Beijing’s refusal to grant full democracy, which […]

Philippines’ Duterte threatens to quit U.N. after drugs war censure

  (REUTERS)  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte railed against the United Nations on Sunday after it called for an end to the wave of killings unleashed by his war on drugs, saying he might leave the organization and invite China and others to form a new one. Two U.N. human rights experts last week urged Manila to stop the extra-judicial executions and killings that have escalated since Duterte won the presidency on a promise to wipe […]

NASA says 2016 heat to take its toll on Arctic Sea ice

  (REUTERS)  Record-breaking warm temperatures in the first half of 2016 have primed the Arctic for another summer of low sea ice cover, said NASA on Friday (August 19). “Globally it’s been the warmest year on record,” said NASA scientist Walt Meier from Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland “That’s resulted in an earlier melt of the Arctic sea ice and an opening of the ocean. And so we’re on track for one of […]

‘Alarming’ disparity in broadband connectivity within Asia-Pacific, UN regional study finds

  (UNITED NATIONS)  New findings by the economic and social development arm of the United Nations in the Asia-Pacific have revealed that nearly 75 per cent of the region’s broadband capabilities and access are concentrated in countries in East and North-East Asia while the Pacific subregion accounts for a mere 1.93 per cent. “As a result of this digital divide, millions of people are shut out from transformative digital opportunities in education, health, business and […]

Zika spreads to Miami Beach, U.S. expands travel warning

  By Zachary Fagenson and Julie Steenhuysen MIAMI/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Federal health officials on Friday warned pregnant women not to travel to trendy Miami Beach after Florida confirmed that the mosquito-borne Zika virus was active in the popular tourist destination. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggested that pregnant women who are especially worried about exposure to Zika – which has been shown to cause the severe birth defect known as microcephaly […]

Photo of boy pulled from rubble reminder of ‘unimaginable horrors’ Syrian children face – UNICEF

  (United Nations/UNICEF)   The heart breaking photograph of Omran Daqneesh, the little boy sitting alone in an ambulance with his face and body covered in blood and dirt after being pulled from a destroyed building has reminded the world, yet again, of the unimaginable horrors that Syrian children face every day, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today. “No child in Syria [is] safe while the conflict drags on,” Christophe Boulierac, […]

South Sudan: Hundreds of children recruited into armed groups, reports UNICEF

  (UNITED NATIONS)   Reporting that 650 children have been recruited into armed groups in South Sudan since January, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called today for an immediate end to recruitment and an unconditional release of all children by armed actors. “The dream we all shared for the children of this young country has become a nightmare,” said Justin Forsyth, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director said today in a news release issued by the agency. “At […]

Japan hit by 6.0 magnitude quake, no tsunami warning

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan was hit by a strong earthquake for the second straight day on Saturday, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, officials said. A shallow magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan Saturday, 167 kilometres (103 miles) from Miyako city, the US Geological Survey said. There was no threat of a tsunami following quake which had a depth of 10 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. […]