WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Rating firm Standard & Poor’s said it was prepared to cut Puerto Rico’s credit rating to default as it expects the US territory will fail to make a crucial payment Friday. Puerto Rico already has missed several payment deadlines. The Caribbean island was expected to default on some $2 billion in debt payments due Friday, despite a rescue plan signed into law Thursday by President Barack Obama. “Puerto Rico, in […]
International
Brexit vote shakes London property market
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) by Patrice NOVOTNY The Brexit vote could cool London’s superheated property market, with some professionals already noting signs of a slowdown, though Gulf investors have signalled their interest is so far undimmed. After a slump in 2008 during the global financial crisis, the sector recovered, first tentatively and then at full pelt, with average prices this year reaching 54 percent higher than their pre-crisis peak. The growth was fuelled by […]
Istanbul airport bombers ‘planned hostage-taking’
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) by Katy Lee with Fulya Ozerkan in Ankara The suicide attackers who launched the deadly Istanbul airport assault were planning to take dozens of passengers hostage, Turkish media reported Friday, as two of the bombers were identified. Turkish officials have pointed blame at the Islamic State jihadist group for Tuesday’s gun and bomb spree at Ataturk airport, which left 44 people dead including 19 foreigners. “They say they are doing this […]
Landslides and flooding in India kill at least eight
DEHRADUN, India (AFP) — Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain in a mountainous part of north India killed at least eight people on Friday and 30 more are missing, a disaster control official said. Piyush Rautela said the toll from the disaster in the scenic Himalayan state of Uttarakhand could rise, with many believed buried in the mud and debris that barreled down slopes into homes. “So far eight bodies have been recovered and […]
Hong Kong celebrates 19th anniversary of returning to motherland
(Courtesy CCTV) — Hong Kong celebrates the 19th anniversary of its return to the motherland of China on Friday, with its chief executive expressing confidence for a better future. A flag-raising ceremony marking the anniversary was held at the Golden Bauhinia Square in the morning. Attending the ceremony were Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, and officials from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government and from the central government. About 1,000 Hong […]
China’s president talks tough ahead of tribunal ruling
by Tom HANCOCK BEIJJING, China (AFP) — China will never compromise on sovereignty, President Xi Jinping said Friday ahead of an international tribunal ruling over Beijing’s maritime claims, as he celebrated the Communist Party’s 95th anniversary. The ruling party must maintain absolute power in the country, strengthen its military and establish a greater role in world leadership, Xi told serried ranks of top officials in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, to rapturous applause. “No […]
VP Biden joins Clinton on campaign trail next week
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Vice President Joe Biden will join Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail for the first time next week, days after the president himself stumps with her, Clinton aides announced Thursday. The pair will attend a Democratic Party event next Friday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where they both have roots, Clinton’s campaign said in a statement. That stop will come four days after President Barack Obama is scheduled […]
Trump quips about Mexican warplane attack
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — More than 2,000 miles from Mexican airspace, Donald Trump took yet another knock at America’s neighbor to the south Thursday, quipping that a plane flying over his campaign stop could be a Mexican jet “getting ready to attack.” The billionaire Republican, campaigning to become America’s commander-in-chief, made the remark while addressing voters in northeastern Manchester, New Hampshire. The plane interrupted Trump as he told attendees that trade deals had […]
100 years on, Prince William pays tribute to lost Somme generation
by Fran BLANDY THIEPVAL, France (AFP) — Prince William on Thursday paid tribute to a generation lost at the Battle of the Somme, 100 years after the deadliest battle in British history. “We lost the flower of a generation and in the years to come it sometimes seemed that with them a sense of vital optimism had disappeared for ever from British life,” William said at a ceremony in northern France. “It was in many […]
US House plans vote on gun control next week
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The US House of Representatives will vote next week on a measure aimed at blocking terror suspects from purchasing guns, House Speaker Paul Ryan told lawmakers Thursday on a conference call. Ryan said that following the July 4th holiday on Monday, the chamber will take up an anti-terrorism package that will include “a provision to prevent suspected terrorists from buying guns,” according to a source who participated in the call. […]
Turkey police detain 13 suspects over Istanbul airport attack: state media
ANKARA, Tukey (AFP) — Turkish police on Thursday rounded up 13 suspects over the triple suicide bombings at Istanbul’s international airport that left 42 people dead, a Turkish official said. “Earlier today, the police raided 16 locations to detain 13 ISIS suspects, including three foreign nationals,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He did not reveal the nationalities of the foreign suspects, but said it was “probable” that at least one of the Ataturk […]
Turkish forces kill 2 suspected IS members at Syria border: report
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish security forces have killed two suspected members of the Islamic State group on the Syrian border, one of whom was believed to be planning a suicide attack in Turkey, news agencies reported Thursday. The two men were shot dead on Saturday, days ahead of the triple suicide bombings at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport on Tuesday that left 42 people dead, the Anadolu and Dogan agencies said. One of the suspects, named […]
