International

Oil prices recover in Asia

  Singapore (AFP)—Oil prices recovered in Asia on Monday after a steep fall in the previous session, with US crude back above $30 a barrel as traders mulled the impact of a potential freeze by key producers. Oil spiked sharply last week after major exporters held talks on a potential agreement to reduce a global supply glut that has dragged prices to their lowest levels in nearly 13 years this month. Saudi Arabia and Russia, […]

URGENT: Fiji cyclone death toll climbs to 17: Care Australia

SUVa, Fiji (AFP) — The death toll from the super-cyclone that hit Fiji over the weekend has risen from six to 17, Care Australia said Monday, citing Fijian government officials. “Care Australia can confirm that figure of 17 dead,” a Care spokesman told AFP after a briefing with disaster management officials in Suva. Severe tropical cyclone Winston, the first category five storm in Fiji, hit the Pacific nation overnight Saturday, packing wind gusts of 325 […]

US rejected N.Korea peace treaty bid: State Dept

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Sunday it received a North Korean proposal to discuss a peace treaty for the Korean peninsula but rejected it when Pyongyang refused to consider reducing its nuclear arsenal. State Department spokesman John Kirby disclosed the exchange when asked about a Wall Street Journal report that President Barack Obama’s administration had secretly agreed to peace talks to formally end the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, days […]

Australia warns of terror threat to Malaysia

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia has warned of a possible terror attack in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, urging travelers to be vigilant after a number of arrests. “Terrorists may be planning attacks in and around Kuala Lumpur,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in its latest advice issued late Sunday. “Attacks could be indiscriminate and may target Western interests or locations frequented by Westerners. You should be particularly vigilant at this […]

Bombings in southern Damascus district kill at least 83

DAMASCUS, Syria (CCTV) — A series of bomb blasts that rocked a southern district of Damascus on Sunday has killed at least 83 people, according to Syrian state news agency SANA. As many as 178 others were injured in the three bombings that rocked the predominantly-Shiite district of Sayyidah Zaynab. The first explosion was a car bomb, followed by two other suicide bombings. The blasts took place close to the al-Sader Hospital in Teen Street […]

Syria’s Assad says he is ready for truce, refugees can return without reprisal

  DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Saturday (February 20) he was ready for a ceasefire on the condition the “terrorists” did not use it to their advantage, and said he wanted refugees to return to the country. Since the beginning of the civil war five years ago, more than 4.3 million have fled Syria and at least 250,000 people have died. In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, Assad […]

Pasugo drive in photos: Thumbs up

(Eagle News) — This young woman in Bonn, Germany makes the “thumbs up” sign as she gears up for “Worldwide Pasugo Drive” of the Iglesia Ni Cristo on Saturday, February 20, 2016.   Wherever in the world they may be, INC members across the globe moved as one in sharing their faith as they heeded the call of the Church Administration to spread the message of salvation to their fellowmen.   (Eagle News Service)  

Pasugo drive in photos: All systems go, even in the snow

(Eagle News) — Snow and very cold weather did not deter Iglesia Ni Cristo members from distributing copies of the Pasugo (God’s Message) magazine to show their unity in the call of the Church Administration to share the faith.   The INC members across the globe participated in the Worldwide Pasugo drive on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 in preparation for the Church’s worldwide evangelical mission on Feb. 29. 2016.  

Fiji hit by ‘strongest ever’ cyclone

Photo grabbed from AFP/ Joshua Kuku Reports of power failure, state of natural disaster SUVA, FIJI (AFP)—Fiji was struck by its most powerful ever cyclone on Saturday, according to reports, as the island nation battened down the hatches with a curfew and evacuations. The category five super-storm hit the main island of Viti Levu overnight, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, with flights cancelled and evacuation centres activated earlier in the day. “As a nation, we […]

Iglesia Ni Cristo Worldwide Pasugo Drive in action

IGLESIA Ni Cristo brethren in the Philippines and all over the world conducted simultaneous dissemination of Pasugo (God’s Message) magazines on Saturday, February 20,  2016, in unity with the Church Administration’s drive to help propagate the message of salvation across the globe. Wherever in the world they may be, the INC brethren went around their respective neighborhoods and work areas to disseminate the Pasugo magazines and to invite their fellowmen to listen to the worldwide […]

Cameron seals ‘Brexit’ deal after marathon EU summit

by Danny Kemp and Katherine Haddon BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP)–European leaders finally sealed a deal Friday on British Prime Minister David Cameron’s reforms after hours of haggling at a marathon summit, paving the way for a referendum on whether Britain will stay in the EU. The European Union’s two top figures, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, presented its 28 leaders with draft proposals at a long-delayed dinner after hours of painstaking face-to-face talks on an issue […]

Hollande: ‘I’ll do what is needed to keep UK in Europe’

  PARIS, France (AFP)– French President Francois Hollande said on Friday he would do what is necessary to keep Britain in the European Union — on condition that “Europe can still move forward”. “I’ll do what is needed to keep the United Kingdom in Europe, but on condition that Europe can still move forward,” Hollande told French radio as a key Brussels summit was set to go on late into the evening. But with Prime […]