International

South Korea president says China response to North Korea nuclear test is key

South Korea warned North Korea on Wednesday (January 13) that the United States and its allies were working on sanctions to inflict “bone-numbing pain” after its latest nuclear test, and called on China to do its part to rein in its isolated neighbour. Last week’s nuclear test was North Korea’s fourth, although the United States and experts doubt the North’s claim that it was of a more powerful hydrogen bomb, as the blast was roughly […]

Three arrests made by Indonesian anti-terrorism police following Jakarta attack

Media reported that three people suspected of plotting an attack were arrested before dawn in Depok, just south of Jakarta, on Friday (January 15). Metro TV said there was no indication that the men – which it described as a bomb-maker, a firearms expert and a preacher – were linked to Thursday’s (January 14) attack. “The informant told us that the people (who are arrested) were told to follow and to be devoted. (The investigation) […]

Cuban migrants continue northward trek through Mexico to the United States

Cuban migrants continued their journey through Mexico toward the United States on Thursday (January 14), flying northward from the southernmost state of Chiapas. The migrants arrived early at the Tapachula airport and spent much of the day awaiting their flight. Migrant Sandro said they were heading toward Mexico City and then on to the border. “Now we are continuing the trip to the United States which is our final destination, toward the border. What border […]

Bus crash kills 14 on ski tour

A bus carrying participants in a ski tour crashed Friday (January 15) morning in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, killing 14 people and injuring another 27. Japanese chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said that the latest information was that of the 41 people on board, no one escaped unharmed. “We have received information that of the people on the bus 14 people have been killed and 27 others were injured,” Suga said. Suga said that there would […]

Ousted Thai PM Yingluck in court for corruption trial

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra appeared in court on Friday (January 15) for the start of a lengthy corruption trial that critics say is an attempt by the ruling junta to further restrict the influence of her and her family. Yingluck, whose government was ousted by the army in 2014, is the sister of ousted populist Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was also deposed by the army in 2006 and remains the most divisive […]

FBI not looking for co-conspirators in Philadelphia police shooting

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is not currently looking for co-conspirators in the shooting of a Philadelphia police officer, with evidence gathered so far indicating the gunman acted alone, the FBI chief told reporters on Thursday (January 14). FBI Director James Comey said reports that authorities were looking for three other suspects were false. Philadelphia police said suspected gunman Edward Archer, 30, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group before allegedly opening fire on […]

Australian Foreign Minister, condems “horrific attacks” in Jakarta

Australian Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop condemned the attacks that took place in Jakarta on Thursday (January 14), and has offered assistance if Indonesia asks for it. “I confirm that the Australian Government condemns these horrific attacks and that we stand with Indonesia in countering terrorism and we’ll do what we can to support them in the investigation as to how this occurred and who is responsible. I have been able to confirm that at this […]

Indonesians worried after Jakarta attacks

Some Indonesians expressed concern about their safety as the country’s capital awoke to a new day on Friday (January 15) following a deadly attack claimed by Islamic State. Just seven people were killed in the three-hour siege near a Starbucks cafe and Sarinah, Jakarta’s oldest department store, despite multiple blasts and a gunfight, and five of them were the attackers themselves. Nevertheless, it was the first time the radical group has targeted the world’s most […]

Argentine economic growth to speed up from 2017, minister says

Argentina’s economy will edge higher this year as the new government lifts interventionist controls, later fuelling growth of about 4.5 percent annually between 2017 and 2019, Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay said on Thursday (January 14). “With our numbers we calculate an estimated (economic growth) of between 0.5 percent and 1 percent this year in 2016, but above all with much stronger growth in the second half of the year,” he said, during a news conference […]

Chemical container blaze restricts Brazil’s Santos port

Up to a dozen containers carrying chemicals caught fire at a terminal at Brazil’s largest port of Santos on Thursday (January 14, 2016), restricting ship movement, representatives of the port authority Codesp said. The fire at the container terminal operated by logistics company Localfrio in Guaruja, on the eastern side of Santos, started around 3 p.m. Brasilia time (1700 GMT), sending plumes of smoke across the shipping channel at the commodity exporting port. A spokeswoman […]

Jimmy Morales sworn in as new president of Guatemala

Jimmy Morales was inaugurated as president of Guatemala during a swearing-in ceremony in Guatemala City on Thursday (January 14). Morales, a former TV comedian who had never held office, swept to power in October after public anger over a corruption scandal that deepened distrust of the country’s political establishment. The 46-year-old Morales overwhelmingly beat centre-left rival and former first lady Sandra Torres in a run-off vote despite his lack of government experience and some policy […]

Middle East refugee indicted in Sacramento for making false statement involving terrorism

A man from the Middle East who came to the United States as a refugee was indicted on Thursday (January 13) on a federal charge for making a false statement involving international terrorism. The U.S. Department of Justice has said that the defendant, Aws Mohammed Younis al-Jayab, 23, is a Palestinian who was born in Iraq and came to the United States in 2012 as a refugee from Syria. Al-Jayab was one of two Middle […]