DHAKA , Bangladesh (AFP) — Fierce tropical storms wreaked havoc across Bangladesh on Thursday, killing more than 30 people, with police attributing many of the deaths to lightning strikes. The death toll from the 10 worst-hit districts stood at 33, police told AFP, with reports of an unconfirmed number of casualties in more remote regions. The northwest of the country was the worst hit, with at least 19 people killed in Pabna, Rajshahi, Sirajganj and […]
International
US Navy fires officer in charge of sailors held by Iran
WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — The officer in charge of 10 US sailors who were briefly captured by Iran in the Persian Gulf was relieved of his command Thursday, the Navy announced. Commander Eric Rasch “was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command,” the Navy said in a statement, adding he has been temporarily reassigned to a new role. The dismissal is the first time a sailor has been […]
‘We must restore Brazil’s credibility’: acting president
BRASILIA , Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s acting president Michel Temer said Thursday his new cabinet must work to restore the country’s “credibility,” in his first address after assuming power from suspended predecessor Dilma Rousseff pending her impeachment trial. “We must significantly improve the business environment for the private sector… and rebalance the government’s budget,” the center-right leader said after installing his new business-friendly cabinet in a ceremony at the presidential palace, ending 13 years of […]
Former Trump butler posts online about killing Obama
WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — The US Secret Service said Thursday it is “aware” that Donald Trump’s former butler had repeatedly posted messages on Facebook about killing President Barack Obama and will conduct an investigation. The threatening posts by 84-year-old Anthony Senecal, who served as the presumptive Republican nominee’s butler for 17 years before becoming the “historian” at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, were made public by Mother Jones magazine. In a message posted Wednesday, only […]
IS releases video of ‘citizen executions’ in Iraq
BAGHDAD , Iraq (AFP) — The Islamic State group has released a video showing five alleged “spies” being shot dead in Iraq by young men from a crowd assembled for the execution. The 12-minute video released on social media on Wednesday mimics a participatory television show, in which members of the public are interviewed and invited to take part. Produced by the group’s branch in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, the video […]
Qaeda suicide bombers kill 13 troops near Yemen’s Mukalla
ADEN , Yemen (AFP) — Al-Qaeda militants, including three suicide bombers who blew up vehicles, killed at least 13 Yemeni government troops outside the southeastern port city of Mukalla on Thursday, a military official said. Several soldiers were also wounded in the attack on the eastern outskirts of the Hadramawt provincial capital, which the army recaptured from Al-Qaeda last month, ending a year of jihadist rule, the official said. One suicide bomber rammed a vehicle […]
Majority of Brazil senators back Rousseff impeachment
by Sebastian Smith BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff prepared Thursday to cede power to her vice president-turned-enemy, Michel Temer, after a majority of the Senate backed suspending her and opening an impeachment trial. With a marathon 17-hour debate continuing through the night ahead of a vote, the writing was already on the wall for Brazil’s first female president. Only a simple majority of the 81-member Senate is required to suspend Rousseff for […]
EU Celebrates Silver Year in the Philippines
The European Union celebrated 25 years of partnership with the Philippines at the Europe Day reception in Makati City.
Yemen Qaeda hits army with 3 suicide bombings: military
ADEN , Yemen (AFP) — Al-Qaeda militants, including three suicide bombers who blew up vehicles, attacked Yemeni government troops outside the southeastern port city of Mukalla on Thursday, a military official said. Several soldiers were killed or wounded in the assault on the eastern outskirts of the city, which government troops recaptured from Al-Qaeda last month ending a year of jihadist rule, the official said. faw/ak/kir © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
Cricketer in Bangladesh beaten to death with stump
DHAKA , Bangladesh (AFP) — A teenage cricketer in Bangladesh was allegedly killed by a stump-wielding batsman after he taunted the umpire over a no-ball delivery, police said Thursday. Sixteen-year-old Babul Shikdar was wicketkeeping during a neighborhood match with friends in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday when the batsman was given out, local police chief Bhuiyan Mahboob Hasan said. Shikdar suggested that the umpire might again favour the batsman, by declaring the bowler’s delivery a […]
Security tight in Bangladesh for strike over Islamist’s hanging
DHAKA , Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh Thursday deployed thousands of police in the capital to prevent violence, after the main Islamist party called a nationwide strike to protest against its leader’s execution for warcrimes. Jamaat-e-Islami party president Motiur Rahman Nizami was hanged late on Tuesday following his conviction for the massacre of intellectuals during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Clashes erupted in the northwest and the south of the country on Wednesday, with […]
British ‘barbarians’ need manners lesson, says China paper in rudeness row
BEIJING , China (AFP) — The British media is riddled with “barbarians” who would benefit from a lesson in manners from China’s ancient civilization, a state-run newspaper said Thursday after Queen Elizabeth II called some Chinese officials “very rude”. In a rare diplomatic gaffe, the British monarch was caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace garden party making unguarded comments about a state visit last year by President Xi Jinping that drummed up billions in […]
