International

SOKOR’S foreign minister meets Japanese counterpart in first trip in four years

(REUTERS)  South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se visited Tokyo on Sunday (June 21), the first such trip in four years, as the U.S. allies prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the normalisation of ties amid a chill because of feuds over the wartime past. Yun met Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at Tokyo’s foreign ministry guest-house on Sunday. He is scheduled to attend a ceremony held by the South Korean embassy on Monday (June […]

Heavy rain causes flooding in New Zealand’s Whanganui

  (REUTERS)  Heavy rain caused New Zealand’s Whanganui River to breach its banks and caused flooding in the area, local media reported. Local state of emergencies were declared in the Taranaki, Whanganui and Rangitikei areas due to the severe weather and flooding, local media said. Whanganui River breached its 8.6-metre high stopbank just after midnight on Saturday (June 20), with nearby properties being flooded as a result, Whanganui District Council told local media. Some houses […]

Toxic liquor kills at least 94 in the slums of Mumbai

  (Reuters) – Toxic homemade liquor has killed at least 94 slum dwellers in India’s financial capital Mumbai, with more than 45 in hospital, police said on Sunday, in the latest disaster involving moonshine. Police have arrested five people in connection with the deaths in a western neighborhood of the city, on the west coast of India, which started on Wednesday. “More than 150 have consumed this alcohol. The death toll may rise,” said Dhananjay […]

Car bomb kills at least two near Houthi mosque in Yemen’s capital

(REUTERS) Islamic State group said it was behind a car bomb that exploded near a mosque in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Saturday (June 20), killing two people and wounding six others, witnesses and a security source told Reuters. Islamic State said in a statement published on militant Twitter accounts that the attack targeted Houthi militia, whose fighters have used the Qubat al-Mahdi mosque, located in the old city of Sanaa. “There were two people injured […]

Islamic State militants plant mines and bombs in Palmyra – monitoring group

(REUTERS)  Islamic State has planted mines and bombs in the ancient part of the central Syrian city of Palmyra, a group monitoring the war said on Sunday (June 21). Video released by the group in May appeared to show the ancient Roman-era ruins in Palmyra still intact, despite fears that it would be destroyed after the Sunni militant group seized the city from government control. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was not […]

Police investigate sightings of escaped prisoners in New York

(Reuters) Police using dogs and air support converged on a town in western New York state on Saturday (June 20) to investigate a possible sighting of two convicted murderers who escaped a maximum-security prison two weeks ago, a police spokesman said. New York State police shut off roads and searched cars near the town of Friendship close to the border with Pennsylvania, as police helicopters flew patrols overhead. Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, […]

SOKOR reports three new MERS cases, Thailand says none

(Reuters) South Korea reported three new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome on Sunday, bringing the total to 169 in the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, but Thailand said it had no new infections. South Korea’s Health Ministry late on Saturday reported the 25th fatality, a patient who had suffered a heart ailment and diabetes. The outbreak was first confirmed on May 20 but seems to have leveled off, the ministry said on Friday. Thailand, […]

White suspect arrested in killing of nine at black U.S. church

JUNE 19 (Reuters) — A white man suspected of killing nine people in a Bible-study group at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina was arrested on Thursday (June 18) and U.S. officials are investigating the attack as a hate crime. Law enforcement officials detained alleged gunman Dylann Roof, 21, after a traffic stop in Shelby, North Carolina, about 220 miles (350 km) north of Charleston, said Shelby police chief Jeff Ledford. “At 10:43 […]

South Korea reports three more deaths, three more new cases in MERS outbreak

JUNE 18 (Reuters) — South Korea’s health ministry reported on Thursday (June 18) three more deaths and three new cases in the country’s Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, bringing the total fatality to 23. “The total number of confirmed MERS cases has risen to 165. A total of 118 MERS patients are undergoing treatment. Up until now, a total of 24 people have been discharged from hospital, and a total of 23 people have […]

Fears among undocumented migrants mount in Dominican Republic as immigration law deadline arrives

JUNE 18 (Reuters) — A deadline for enforcement of a new immigration law on Wednesday (June 17) night is raising fears in the Dominican Republic of mass deportations of thousands of Haitian migrants as well as stateless Dominicans of Haitian descent. Dominican officials say anyone lacking proper identity documents or who has not registered for a so-called “regularization” program before the deadline could face deportation. But Immigration Minister, Ruben Dario Paulino Sem, said nothing has […]

China says others should stay out of South China Sea debate after U.S. island construction comments

JUNE 18 (Reuters) — China told other countries to stay out of the South China Sea debate on Wednesday (June 17) after the U.S. State Department said China’s island reclamation announcement would not ease tensions in the disputed region. China will soon complete some of its land reclamation on the Spratly islands in the disputed South China Sea, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday (June 16), indicating that Beijing is close to setting up new […]

Arizona residents are evacuated as wildfire grows

JUNE 18 (Reuters) — A wildfire that started Tuesday (June 17) in the Arizona Mountains southeast of Phoenix has already burned some 50-acres. The so-called ‘Kearny River fire’ is burning in the riverbed of the Gila River. Officials say 25 structures are threatened and evacuations are now in effect for 100 homes. About 100 personnel are battling the blaze and authorities have ordered helicopter and air support. The cause of the fire is under investigation.