International

Five dead, two injured in Paris suburb fire

SAINT-DENIS, France (AFP) — At least five people were killed and two others seriously injured in a building fire in a suburb of Paris on Monday evening, the fire service said. A further nine people had less serious injuries following the blaze in Saint-Denis, to the north of the French capital, a spokesman said. Firefighters at the scene were unable to identify the victims found in the rubble because of the severity of the blaze, […]

Haiti announces plan for new election

Haiti’s electoral council on Monday (June 06) announced that it is scrapping the results of a disputed presidential vote and setting a new election date, a move that could see interim president Jocelerme Privert stay in office until next year. The Caribbean nation held a first-round vote in October, but a second-round run-off was postponed several times after losing candidates alleged fraud. Privert was chosen as an interim leader when the last president left office […]

Clinton said to clinch nomination, but won’t cry victory

by Michael Mathes LOS ANGELES , United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton has captured the Democratic White House nomination according to US delegate counts released Monday, hours before the last major primaries of 2016, taking a historic step towards becoming America’s first female commander-in-chief. Passing the milestone of 2,383 delegates secures Clinton’s status as the presumptive nominee, ensuring she will go head-to-head with Republican real estate tycoon Donald Trump in an unprecedented showdown for the […]

Ecuador signs a $1.2 billion port construction contract with Dubai’s DP World

Ecuadorean authorities signed on Monday (June 6), a 1.2 billion-dollar contract with Dubai’s DP World, for the construction of Ecuador’s first deep water port. Authorities from the Arab Emirates’s state company attended the signing in Quito, where the contract was finalised for the public-private endeavour involving the construction and 50 years’ of operation of the Posorja Port, connecting to the Panama Canal. Critics said the contract should have been awarded via a public tender, given […]

Saudi reform plan aims for revenue surge, salary clamp-down

Saudi Arabia plans to more than triple the government’s non-oil revenues and clamp down on public-sector salaries over the next five years, Saudi ministers said on Tuesday (June 7) as they described reforms designed to reduce the economy’s dependence on oil and build a sustainable future. The National Transformation Plan (NTP) aims to boost non-oil revenue to 530 billion riyals ($141 billion) by 2020, creating some 450,000 non-government jobs, according to comments by ministers and […]

Tropical Storm Colin: Florida declares state of emergency

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Tropical Storm Colin churned toward Florida’s northern Gulf coast Monday where officials issued a state of emergency under threat from high winds, possible tornadoes and copious rain. Colin, which formed Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to cross the southern state with top sustained winds of 50 miles (85 kilometers) per hour, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Monday. The NHC expects the storm, now 190 miles (305 […]

Suspect held over Jordan ‘terror attack’

by Kamal Taha with Mussa Hattar in Amman BAQAA, Jordan (AFP) — Jordanian authorities have arrested a suspect accused of gunning down five intelligence agents on Monday in their office at a Palestinian refugee camp. “Investigations are under way but early indications are that this was an isolated and individual act,” said government spokesman Mohammed Momani, announcing the arrest without identifying the suspect. The gunman struck at Baqaa camp north of the capital early Monday […]

Saudi cabinet approves economic diversification plan

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — The Saudi cabinet has approved a major plan to diversify the national economy away from oil with an aim to generate 450,000 jobs in non-government sectors by 2020, officials said Tuesday. The National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 also aims to cut public expenditures by 40 percent over the next five years and boost the contribution of the private sector, officials said. NTP is one of several programs designed to achieve […]

Obama poised to endorse Clinton

by Andrew Beatty WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Barack Obama edged closer to a formal endorsement of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee Monday, with his White House suggesting the next 48 hours would be pivotal. With a series of key primary votes on Tuesday that could see Clinton all but seal the party nomination, the White House would not rule out an endorsement by Wednesday. “Once the voters in New Jersey and […]

Three die, others missing in fierce Australia storms

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Wild weather which smashed into Australia’s east coast and whipped up giant waves on Sydney beaches has left at least three people dead and others missing, police said Monday as the clean-up began. Ferocious storms pounded the coast over the weekend, causing flooding in New South Wales state. Huge seas eroded the shoreline, in one instance sweeping the in-ground swimming pool of a beachside home onto the beach. “This storm, which […]

‘Terror attack’ kills 5 Jordan intelligence agents

AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Five Jordanian intelligence agents were killed in an attack on their office in a Palestinian refugee camp north of the capital Amman on Monday, government spokesman Mohammed Momani said. “The intelligence agency office in the Baqa’a camp was the target of a cowardly attack shortly before 7:00 am (0400 GMT) today that left five agents dead,” Momani said. msh/ila/kir/mm © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

East Australian coast lashed by freak storm

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The east coast of Australia, including Sydney, was battered by a freak storm on Sunday with trees uprooted and thousands left without power. The wild storm struck New South Wales after wreaking havoc in Queensland state on Saturday, with an intense low-pressure system bringing heavy rains, gales and rough seas. Hundreds of people were evacuated from homes across NSW and motorists trapped on roads had to be rescued as floodwaters rose, […]