(Reuters) – An earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties. The quake was 37 km (23 miles) deep and centred 179 km (111 miles) offshore. It was felt by people on land but there was no panic, Indonesia’s disaster agency said. There was no word on a tsunami. Indonesia, badly hit by the Indian Ocean […]
International
Indonesian official confirms Bali Nine members are transferred to final prison ahead of execution
Indonesian authorities confirmed they have transferred two convicted Australian drug traffickers on Wednesday (March 4) to a maximum security prison ahead of an upcoming execution that could happen in the near future. Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were transferred under armoured truck through a heavily guarded process from the Kerobokan prison in Bali, where both served at least eight years of a jail term. “Today is the transfer day for two of them. We already […]
Democrats scramble to defend Hillary Clinton email flap
Democrats scrambled on Tuesday (March 3) to contain the fallout from revelations that their favored 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton’s used a personal email account during her term as secretary of state — a possible violation of federal law. Her bypassing of official communications at the State Department fed a political narrative that Republicans want to use to damage Clinton, that the wife of former President Bill Clinton is obsessed with secrecy and has something […]
Indonesia moves two Australian convicts to final prison
Indonesian authorities transferred two convicted Australian drug traffickers on Wednesday (March 4) to a maximum security prison inNusakambangan Island of central Java province. The prisoners were transferred despite pleas for mercy from the government ofAustralia. The executions threaten already fragile relations between at times uneasy neighbours Australia and Indonesia. Australians Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, were transferred with tight security of ten armed security personnel for each person. The prisoners are among 11 […]
Federal agents raid 20 suspected ‘maternity hotels’ in California
Federal agents raided about 20 Southern California locations on Tuesday (March 03) suspected of involvement in “maternity tourism” schemes offering travel and lodging services to pregnant foreign women seeking to give birth in the United States, U.S. immigration officials said. Authorities say the so-called maternity hotels targeted in the sweep catered largely to women from China who paid $15,000 to $50,000, depending on services provided, in hopes of obtaining U.S. citizenship for their children. The […]
Bill Gates, World’s Richest Man for 2015
Forbes released its annual list of the world’s richest with Bill Gates topping the list with a net worth of $79.2 billion.
Google and an Amazonian foundation team up to launch Amazon Street View
Google and has teamed up with the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS) in Brazil to create Amazon Street View so people from around the world can get a close-up view of the Amazon jungle in Brazil. Amazon Street View works the same as Google’s Street View and allows users on Google Maps to navigate through hundreds of kilometers of Brazil’s Amazon Jungle by simply clicking and viewing 360 degree photographs. Amazon Street View traverses more than […]
Twitter, law enforcement investigate alleged Islamic State threats
Twitter Inc. and law enforcement authorities are investigating alleged threats made by Islamic State militants against the social media network’s co-founder and other employees, the company said in reaction to media reports. Islamic State supporters, in online posts on Sunday (March 1), called for attacks against Twitter and its “interests,” including death threats, according to the online news media company Buzzfeed as well as the NBC news network. “Our security team is investigating the veracity […]
Apple, Google poaching settlement appears headed for approval
A U.S. judge on Monday (March 02) seemed satisfied with a proposed $415 million settlement that would end a lawsuit in which tech workers accused Apple Inc, Google Inc and two other Silicon Valley companies of conspiring to hold down salaries. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, had previously rejected an earlier $324 million deal as too low. During a hearing on Monday, Koh raised no objections about the size of the […]
Bill Gates tops Forbes rich list, Michael Jordan joins
Bill Gates stands atop Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s richest people, as Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg joined the top 20 and basketball starMichael Jordan plowed new air by making the list for the first time. Gates’ net worth rose to $79.2 billion from $76 billion a year earlier, putting the Microsoft Corp co-founder at the top for the 16th year in the last 21, Forbes said on Monday (March 2). Mexico telecommunications mogul […]
Chile on alert as the Villarrica volcano spews smoke and ash
Chile’s towering Villarrica volcano erupted on Sunday (March 2) night, spewing incandescent rock and lava fragments. Located in the Chile’s south in the La Araucania region, Villarrica has seen increased activity since February 6. On February 14 a 500-metre (1640-foot) plume of gas spewed from its massive crater. According to Sevicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria (SERNAGEOMIN), Chile’s geology and mining body, bright incandescence outbursts were observed from its crater with small and successive explosions. […]
Obama, Israel’s Netanyahu clash over Iran diplomacy
President Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu clashed over Iran nuclear diplomacy on Monday on the eve of the Israeli prime minister’s hotly disputed address to Congress, underscoring the severity of U.S.-Israeli strains over the issue. Even as the two leaders professed their commitment to a strong partnership and sought to play down the diplomatic row, they delivered dueling messages. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, U.S. President Barack Obama tried to lay to rest any […]
