CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) by Alexander MARTINEZ Citibank plans to close the account Venezuela uses to make international payments, President Nicolas Maduro said Monday, accusing the US-based bank of mounting a “financial blockade.” “Citibank, with no warning or communication, says that it is going to close the Central Bank and Bank Of Venezuela account. That is what you call a financial blockade,” the embattled president said in televised remarks. He said the move amounted to an […]
International
China has ‘no historic rights’ in South China Sea: tribunal
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — China has no legal basis to claim “historic rights” to islands in the South China Sea, an international tribunal ruled on Tuesday in a bitter dispute that risks stoking further tensions in Southeast Asia. “The Tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’,” the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration said in a statement. jhe/jm © […]
Vietnam says China ‘sank’ fishing boat in disputed sea
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam has accused the Chinese coastguard of sinking a fishing boat near a disputed island chain, authorities said Tuesday, ahead of key UN-backed ruling on claims in the flashpoint South China Sea. Two Vietnamese boats were chased by a pair of Chinese coastguard ships on Saturday afternoon off Vietnam’s Quang Ngai province, the Vietnam Fisheries Society (Vinafis) said in a statement. One ship was boarded by Chinese coastguards who forced the […]
Tropical storm kills 10 in China, 11 missing
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A tropical storm in China has left 10 people dead and 11 missing, reports said Monday, after it lashed Taiwan with typhoon-grade winds and rain. Super Typhoon Nepartak brought chaos to Taiwan Friday, forcing more than 15,000 people to flee their homes as part of the island saw its strongest winds in over a century. It had weakened into a tropical storm by the time it made landfall in Fujian province […]
Embassy urges Filipinos to be vigilant in China
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Philippine embassy in China has warned its citizens to beware of personal “threats” and avoid political debates ahead of a tribunal ruling Tuesday over a bitter dispute in the South China Sea. Manila filed a case with an international tribunal in The Hague in 2013 challenging China, which claims nearly all of the strategically vital sea, even waters approaching the coasts of the Philippines China — whose governing Communist party […]
Pokemon Go craze crashes Aussie servers, draws police warnings
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — High demand for the mobile augmented-reality game Pokemon Go crashed the app’s servers in Australia Tuesday, while attracting safety and trespassing warnings from police. The game has been a huge hit with players since it was rolled out in Australia, New Zealand and the United States late last week, with more than five million downloads on the Android Google Play app store. It has also topped Apple’s app charts. A Pokemon […]
Obama heads to Dallas to bring some ‘comfort’
by Andrew BEATTY WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Barack Obama heads to Dallas on Tuesday to offer comfort to relatives of the five police officers slain in a sniper ambush — and to try to unify a nation struggling to process a raw week of deadly violence and racial tensions. For Obama, his speech at an interfaith memorial service in the sprawling Texas city — with Vice President Joe Biden and former president […]
Cameron steps down, leaving legacy of failure
by Katherine HADDON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — David Cameron’s political epitaph was carved in stone when he resigned the morning after Britons voted to quit the European Union. Cameron had staged the referendum to try to unite his Conservative party, where right-wing eurosceptics were agitating to leave the 28-nation bloc. His expectation was that he would win the June 23 vote handily and then push ahead with social reforms to crown his second term […]
Beijing raises rhetoric ahead of South China Sea ruling
by Benjamin CARLSON BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing braced Tuesday for an international tribunal’s ruling on the South China Sea, where it has expansive territorial claims, with all eyes watching for the Asian giant’s reaction on the ground or in the water. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague is set to release its final decision on the case, which was brought by the Philippines challenging China’s position. In a months-long campaign Beijing […]
Conservative power broker say no to Trump
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Conservative billionaire power broker Charles Koch said Monday he is not backing Donald Trump, claiming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s principles are “antithetical” to his. In an interview at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado, Koch spoke about Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, saying: “I see two people that as of this point we’re not supporting.” “If I had to vote for cancer or a heart […]
Theresa May to become Britain’s next PM Wednesday
by Katherine HADDON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Theresa May on Wednesday will become the prime minister who leads Britain into talks to quit the European Union, after her last rival in the bid to succeed David Cameron pulled out. May became the only contender after Andrea Leadsom — who had stirred a storm for suggesting she was more qualified to be premier because she had children — abruptly quit the race on Monday. Cameron […]
Israel okays millions to West Bank settlements after attacks
JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) – Israel’s government on Sunday approved nearly $13 million in financing for the West Bank settlements of Kiryat Arba and within Hebron, officials said, following a wave of Palestinian attacks in the area. The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing cabinet will see some 50 million shekels ($12.8 million, 11.6 million euros) allocated to “strengthen” the communities. “Government offices, I must note, have all been recruited to assist the residents who […]
