JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) – Indonesia called Monday on Malaysia and the Philippines to do more to secure their “unsafe” waters after the weekend abduction of sailors by suspected Islamist militants. Armed men in a speedboat kidnapped the three sailors late Saturday from a Malaysian-flagged trawler in Malaysian waters off Borneo island and took them towards the strife-torn southern Philippines, officials said. The kidnappers were apparently targeting Indonesian citizens, as three Malaysian sailors and an Indonesian […]
International
After win, Abe calls for debate on Japan constitution
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – by Kyoko HASEGAWA An emboldened Shinzo Abe called Monday for debate on Japan’s pacifist constitution, which he said it was his “duty” to revise after scoring a strong win in weekend elections. Voters backed the hawkish prime minister, despite a lacklustre economic performance, handing his Liberal Democratic Party and its allies control of more than half of the upper house of parliament. Analysts say with the support of small nationalist parties, Abe […]
US demo arrests swell as police describe Dallas bomb plot
DALLAS, United States (AFP) – by Thomas Urbain with Carlos Hamann in Washington The Dallas gunman was plotting a major bomb attack, authorities said, urging calm as hundreds of people were arrested in weekend protests in US cities over police violence against African-Americans. Demonstrators marched demanding justice for two black men shot dead by cops in Minnesota and Louisiana, their dying moments captured in video that went viral online. Peaceful marches attracted large crowds in […]
Fierce fighting in Juba despite appeals for calm
JUBA, South Sudan (AFP) – Heavy fighting resumed in South Sudan’s capital Juba on Monday despite international calls for calm after deadly gun battles sent thousands of people fleeing and threatened the young nation’s shaky peace. The United Nations expressed deep alarm over the surge in violence, which has left several hundred people dead and risks plunging the country into a new civil war. Intense battles resumed Monday with tanks and helicopter gunships deployed and […]
Hague tribunal to rule on South China Sea row tomorrow
(Eagle News) — An international court in The Hague is set to deliver an anticipated ruling in the Philippines’ case against china over the South China Sea tomorrow, July 12, drawing an immediate rebuke from Beijing, which rejects the tribunal’s jurisdiction. Manila is contesting China’s historical claim to about 90 percent of the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Several Southeast Asian states have overlapping claims in the sea and the […]
Taiwan says willing to peacefully resolve disputes while maintaining rights in South China Sea
TAIPEI, Taiwan (Reuters) — Taiwan would like to peacefully resolve any disputes that might arise from the international court ruling in the South China Sea, but will be steadfast in maintaining its rights in Itu Aba, the sole Taiwan-held island in the Spratlys, senior government officials said Monday (July 11). Taiwan is one of the claimant which will be affected by the arbitration result in the case before The Hague between the Philippines and China. “We […]
Tropical storm kills six in China, eight missing
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A tropical storm in China left six people dead and at least eight more missing, reports said, 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 […]
Beijing says should be no S.China Sea talk at Asia-Europe summit
BEIJING, China (Reuters) — The South China Sea is not on the agenda and should not be discussed at a major summit between Asian and European leaders in Mongolia at the end of the week attended by China’s premier, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday (July 11). The Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, will be the first important diplomatic gathering after the July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing a dispute between China and […]
Three Indonesians kidnapped off Malaysia: police
KUALA Lumpur, Malaysia (AFP) — Three Indonesians have been kidnapped by armed men off an area in Malaysia, police said Sunday, where militants from the Abu Sayyaf group have been blamed for repeated kidnappings. Malaysian marine police chief Abdul Rahim Abdullah confirmed the kidnapping to AFP, adding: “It happened close to midnight yesterday. The three were crew in a fishing trawler.” Authorities did not say if they believed the Abu Sayyaf was involved. The incident […]
40 arrested in Paris over Euro 2016 violence
PARIS, France (AFP) — Around 40 people were arrested in Paris Sunday after police used tear gas and water cannon against football fans hurling glass bottles at officers at the Eiffel Tower during the Euro 2016 final. Crowds of supporters, some donning France or Portuguese flags, gathered at the base of the Paris landmark before and after Portugal’s stunning 1-0 victory over France after they were refused entry to the fan zone which was packed […]
Strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Ecuador: USGS
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — A strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck northern Ecuador late Sunday in the same area devastated by a powerful quake in mid-April, the US Geological Service said. Its epicenter was 41 kilometers (25.5 miles) south of the town of Propicia — located next to the quake-devastated coastal town of Esmeraldas — and 154 kilometers (96 miles) northwest of the capital Quito, the USGS said. The quake, which struck at 9:11 pm (0211 […]
Mexico tells Trump if he wants a wall, he can build it
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico’s president hit back Sunday at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s claim that if elected, he would make Mexico build a wall along its US border. The bombastic billionaire has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and insulted Mexican immigrants by calling them rapists, criminals and drug dealers. As his party’s presumptive presidential candidate, Trump is now eyeing a clash in the November election with his Democratic rival Hillary […]
