International

Helicopter accident kills 16 police officers in Colombia

  (Reuters)– Sixteen policemen died on Tuesday (August 04) and two were injured when a helicopter likely crashed into the side of mountain in a wooded region of northwestern Colombia, Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas said. Apartado Clinic Director General Nicolas Suarez said the two injured police officers were being treated in his hospital. “We received a call from the clinic alerting us that they were coming with people injured in the helicopter accident. Up […]

Saipan in “state of disaster” as typhoon Soudelor makes direct hit

(Eagle News) — Before entering the Philippines, supertyphoon Soudelor passed over Saipan late Sunday night and early Monday, wreaking havoc on the island as its powerful winds ripped off roofs of homes, toppled power poles and its rains flooding roads and establishments, including power plants. The Pacific Daily News reported that typhoon Soudelor made a direct hit on Saipan which has been delared as in a “state of disaster.” Hundreds of Saipan residents are now  in […]

At least 75 die after heavy rains in India; aid reaches West Bengal

  (Reuters) — At least 75 people have died and tens of thousands have had to take refuge in state-run relief camps after heavy rains caused floods and landslides in eastern India, government officials and aid groups said on Monday (August 3). Exacerbated by Cyclone Komen which struck the east coast on Friday (July 31), the rainfall has made major rivers overflow, inundating villages in parts of West Bengal, Odisha and Manipur states. Flash floods […]

Republican presidential candidates gather in New Hampshire

  (Reuters) — Republican U.S. presidential candidates were in Manchester, New Hampshire, to test their messages at a forum on Monday (August 3) broadcast live on U.S. cable network C-SPAN. Fourteen of the 17 candidates faced off in Manchester, N.H. for the Voters Issues Forum at Saint Anselm College. Each candidate was asked questions by a moderator based on a random draw. While Donald Trump decided not to attend, illegal immigration was a dominant theme. […]

Aid arrives in flooded areas of Myanmar as death toll from floods hit 27

(Reuters) — Myanmar’s government aid relief team air-dropped supplies to flooded areas in Rakhine state on Monday (August 3) as the death toll rose to 27. The number of deaths was expected to rise further as relief and rescue teams struggled to reach those in need of help in remote areas. “First, we focus on food. We’ve prepared boxes of rice, drinking water, instant noodles. We have to drop off these rations six feet above […]

Funeral for Mexican journalist killed in Mexico City after his life had been threatened

  (Reuters) — Slain Mexican news photographer, Ruben Espinosa, was laid to rest in Mexico City on Monday (August 03) days after he was shot dead in his apartment, the latest in a string of murders that has prompted protests from fellow journalists. Espinosa, who a month ago claimed in interviews that he felt threatened by the governor of eastern Veracruz state, was the lone male among five victims that police discovered bound, beaten and […]

More information needed to find out what happened to MH370, says expert

(Courtesy China Central Television) — More information is needed to confirm what happened to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, even if the wreckage found near the Reunion Island is verified as from the missing plane, a French aerospace professor said on Monday. The wreckage was discovered near Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean late Friday and has been confirmed to be part of a Boeing 777, the same aircraft type used for flight MH370. The […]

Monsoon rains displace thousands, kill 27 in Myanmar

(Reuters) — Television footage in Myanmar on Monday (August 3) showed flood waters affecting many areas of the country after deadly monsoon rains displaced tens of thousands of people and flooded swathes of rice paddies. The storm and floods have killed at least 27 people, according to government figures while the figure is expected to rise, according to a United Nations report. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a statement said […]

National Guard troops mobilized to fight northern California wildfire

  (Reuters) — A wildfire raging through the foothills and canyons of northern California’s coastal mountains more than doubled in size as it roared into its fifth day on Sunday (August 2), leaving two dozen homes in charred ruins and displacing thousands of residents. The blaze, which has scorched about 54,000 acres (21,853 hectares) east of Lower Lake, a town about 110 miles (180 km) north of San Francisco, was the fiercest of 20 large […]

U.S. military strikes Islamic State targets in Iraq – video

(Reuters) — The U.S. military released a video on Sunday (August 2) of what it says are successful coalition air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq. In a statement, the military said the strikes “successfully destroyed a Da’esh (ISIL) vehicle-borne improvised explosive device facility August 1, 2015 near Makhmur” in coordination with the Iraqi government. The United States and its allies carried out 18 air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and six in […]

Two escalator accidents in China highlight need for safer escalators

TWO accidents involving escalators have been in the news in China recently, where at least one has died after being caught in a gap in the escalator’s platform. The producer of the escalator, Suzhou Seloon Elevator Co., Ltd., has already apologized to the family of the victim who was killed due to a faulty escalator produced by the company, according to Chinese state media. A woman surnamed Xia was killed by a broken escalator at […]

U.S. President Barack Obama will unveil tougher climate change plan

    AUGUST 3 (Reuters) — U.S. President Barack Obama will unveil on Monday (August 3) the final version of his plan to tackle greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants, kicking off what is expected to be a tumultuous legal battle against federal environmental regulators by the coal industry and its political allies. The revised Clean Power Plan will seek to slash carbon emissions from the power sector by 32 percent by 2030 from 2005 […]