Twelve people were killed in a coal mine accident in China, state media reported Monday, the latest incident in the country’s notoriously dangerous industry. Coal gas flooded a colliery in Baishan, in the northeastern province of Jilin, killing the miners, the official Xinhua news service said. One was rescued and the cause of the accident on Sunday was being investigated. Industrial safety standards are often flouted in China even though deadly incidents regularly make national […]
International
Philippine Muslim rebels warn IS seeks foothold in south
KUALA Lumpur, Malaysia (AFP) — The Islamic State group is trying to establish a stronghold in the violence-racked southern Philippines, the head of the nation’s biggest Muslim rebel organisation warned Monday. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Murad Ebrahim said the extremist IS seeks to capitalize on growing frustration over the breakdown of efforts to end a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion in the southern Mindanao region. The peace process has been frozen since the Philippine […]
South Korea, US launch military drills, North threatens nuclear strikes
by Giles Hewitt SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea and the United States kicked off their largest-ever joint military drills on Monday, prompting fresh warnings from North Korea of “indiscriminate” nuclear strikes against Seoul and the US mainland. The annual exercises always raise tensions on the divided Korean peninsula and the situation is particularly volatile this year, given the North’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch and its fury over the tough UN […]
South Korea kicks off joint military drills with the United States
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean and U.S. troops began large-scale military drills on Monday (March 7) in an annual test of defensive readiness against North Korea, which called the exercises “nuclear war moves” and threatened to respond with an all-out offensive. South Korea has said the drills will be the largest ever in scale in response to North Korea’s recent nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch that led to the latest U.N. […]
First case of Zika virus detected in Philippines since 2012
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — An American woman was infected with the Zika virus while visiting the Philippines, health department officials said Sunday, the first case detected in the country for several years. Health Secretary Janette Garin said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) had informed her that a US resident who stayed in the Philippines for four weeks in January had apparently developed symptoms in her last week before returning to America. “We were […]
Philippines impounds N. Korean ship under UN sanctions
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines said Saturday it had impounded a North Korean vessel in response to tough new United Nations sanctions introduced in response to Pyongyang’s recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The 6,830-tonne cargo ship Jin Teng will not be allowed to leave Subic port, northeast of the capital Manila, where it had been docked for three days and its crew will be deported, presidential spokesman Manolo Quezon said on state-run radio station […]
Sixty hospitalised as boat engine explodes in Bangkok
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Sixty people were hospitalized Saturday, mostly for burns, after the engine on a Bangkok commuter boat exploded and sent passengers leaping to a nearby pier or into the water, officials and reports said. The crowded boat was ferrying passengers on a major canal in the eastern outskirts of the Thai capital, which boasts an extensive network of waterways that teem with motorised commuter boats during rush hour. Most of the injured […]
China says its defense budget maintained in reasonable range
BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China said on Friday (March 4) that it’s defense budget had been controlled in a reasonable range, while it urged the United States to respect the interests of countries in the region of South China Sea after a report saying its navy fleet entered the disputed waters. China’s defense budget this year is likely to rise at its slowest pace since 2010, in line with the decelerating economy and by a […]
Leaders hail ‘real progress’ in Syria
Paris, France—World leaders hailed “real progress” in Syria on Friday, but fresh air strikes showed the fragility of the week-old truce as the opposition cast doubt on its attendance at talks next week in Geneva. Warplanes struck a key rebel bastion east of the Syrian capital for the first time since the United States-Russia-brokered truce — which excludes the fight against jihadists — began last weekend, a monitor said. “Two air strikes hit the edge […]
China increases defense budget
BEIJING, China – According to the National People’s Congress, from seven percent the defense budget of China will increase to eight percent and added that said budget will continue to increase yearly. However, China denied the militarization of the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea and questioned the motives of the United States of America in sending naval forces in the said territories, accusing said country of preferential treatment regarding the Philippines. (Eagle News […]
Nigeria frees 63 after dislodging Boko Haram Islamists: army
LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) — Nigeria’s military said on Thursday it had rescued 63 people after dislodging Boko Haram Islamists from villages in the country’s restive northeast. Five Boko Haram fighters were also killed at their hideouts in Lawin Meleri, Matiri Bulaka and Aljeri villages during the clampdown, army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement. “During the operation, they (troops) killed five Boko Haram terrorists and also rescued 63 persons held captive by the terrorists,” […]
Sandstorms hit northwest China cities
TURPAN City, Xinjiang, China (CCTV) — Sandstorms hit Hami City and Turpan Depression in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Thursday. Strong wind accompanied with sands reduced visibility in Hami to less than 200 meters in the rural areas and even less than 100 meters in some parts of the urban area. “The visibility is less than 20 meters. We have to turn on the fog lights and flashing lights to ensure safety,” said […]
