Myanmar President Htin Kyaw and Philippines Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo arrived on Wednesday (May 18) in the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) – Russia summit. According to Russian media the 10 leaders of Asian states are expected to discuss bilateral ties and economic cooperation. The summit’s official website says the aggregate turnover of commodities between Russia and ASEAN members in 2014 equalled $22.5 billion. The […]
International
Canada’s Trudeau apologizes after physical altercation in Parliament
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized in Parliament on Wednesday (May 18) after he rushed across the floor to hurry one legislator to his seat, was accused of elbowing another in the chest and got into a shouting match with an opposition leader. The incident was an unusual outburst in the normally staid Canadian parliament and a rare loss of control by the telegenic Trudeau, 44, who has enjoyed high ratings in the polls and […]
Breaking News : EgyptAir MS804 heading to Cairo from Paris goes missing; disappears 10 miles into Egyptian air space: Twitter
(Reuters) Breaking News : EgyptAir MS804 heading to Cairo from Paris goes missing; disappears 10 miles into Egyptian air space: Twitter
El Paso community band together to aid wave of Cuban migrants reaching US via Mexico
Scores of Cuban migrants have crossed overland from Mexico to Texas in recent months amidst fears that a detente between Havana and Washington will see an end to the privileged position of Cuban citizens have coming into the United States. They are coming into Texas via the Santa Fe International Bridge that connects with Ciudad Juarez on the Mexican side with El Paso in Texas. The more than 10,000 Cubans who had been stuck in […]
EgyptAir MS804 heading to Cairo from Paris goes missing; disappears 10 miles into Egyptian air space
Breaking News : (REUTERS) EgyptAir MS804 heading to Cairo from Paris goes missing; disappears 10 miles into Egyptian air space: Twitter
Haitian president calls for patience amidst stalled election
Haiti’s President Joclerme Privert on Wednesday (May 18) called on the impoverished Caribbean nation to be patient amidst election deadlock amidst public frustrations over a stalled national vote. Haiti’s election was postponed in January after sometimes violent protests over allegations of fraud in the first round. An interim government has been running the country since the last president’s term ended in February. Political battles over the formation of the interim government has meant that temporary […]
Canada PM Trudeau apologizes for striking opposition lawmaker
OTTAWA , Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized to lawmakers Wednesday after an altercation in which he accidentally struck a member of the opposition with his elbow. The incident happened in the House of Commons during discussions for a physician-assisted suicide law. Video of the incident showed Trudeau striding across the chamber toward a group of lawmakers standing on the floor and grabbing opposition whip Gord Brown by the arm, apparently to […]
Car bomb, clashes with IS kill 32 Libya unity govt forces: military
TRIPOLI , Libya (AFP) — Thirty-two fighters loyal to Libya’s unity government were killed in clashes with Islamic State group jihadists and a car bombing Wednesday near the IS stronghold of Sirte, the military said. “The toll of today’s martyrs reached 32, and 50 others were wounded,” the operations room set up by the new Government of National Unity (GNA) said on its Facebook page and Twitter account late Wednesday, updating an earlier toll of […]
Hostage taker shot dead at Moscow bank
MOSCOW , Russia (AFP) — Russian special forces on Wednesday shot dead a man who had taken hostages at a Moscow bank, local media cited the police as saying. “A man wearing a balaclava entered the bank and threatened the employees with an object resembling a gun,” Interfax news agency quoted the police as saying. The man had requested 4.7 million rubles ($70,800) and 13,000 euros from a branch of the Moscow Credit Bank in […]
Chinese jets conduct ‘unsafe’ intercept of US spy plane: Pentagon
WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — Two Chinese fighters have conducted an “unsafe” intercept of a US spy plane in international air space over the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Wednesday. “The Department of Defense is reviewing a May 17 intercept of a US maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft by two tactical aircraft from the People’s Republic of China,” Pentagon spokesman Major Jamie Davis said in a statement. “Initial reports characterized the incident as unsafe,” […]
One dead as aftershocks shake quake-weary Ecuador
by Santiago PIEDRA SILVA QUITO , Ecuador (AFP) — Two strong aftershocks killed one person and injured 85 Wednesday as they shook Ecuador a month after a devastating earthquake left some 700 dead, President Rafael Correa said. Terrified Ecuadorans poured into the streets after waking up in the middle of the night to a 6.8-magnitude earthquake, which hit as the country is struggling to clean up the devastation left by a powerful 7.8-magnitude quake on […]
Protests in Hong Kong as top China official visits
by Aaron TAM Dennis CHONG HONG KONG , China (AFP) — Hong Kong protesters angry at a visit by a top Beijing official shouted pro-democracy slogans Wednesday but were kept well away from a mission seen as an attempt to bridge the city’s growing political divide. The three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China’s communist-controlled legislature, is the first by such a senior official for four years. It comes as concerns grow that freedoms […]
