International

Hong Kong authorities begin clearing part of Mong Kok protest site

(Reuters) – Hong Kong authorities encountered little resistance as they began clearing part of a pro-democracy protest camp in the bustling district of Mong Kok on Tuesday following a court order to reopen a road. The gritty, working-class area across the harbor from the main protest site at Admiralty has been the scene of some of the most violent clashes during two months of pro-democracy demonstrations in the Chinese-ruled city. Hundreds of police stood guard […]

Ferguson erupts after officer not charged in teen’s shooting

(Reuters) – A Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer on any charges in the fatal August shooting of an unarmed black teenager unleashed a wave of violent protests Monday night similar to what engulfed the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson in August. Angry crowds took to the streets around the Ferguson, Missouri, police department after the grand jury determined there was no probable cause to charge officer Darren Wilson with […]

Madagascar PM confirms plague outbreak

(Reuters) — Madagascar Prime Minister Kolo Christophe Laurent Roger confirmed on Monday (November 24) that the country is witnessing an outbreak of plague after a previous announcement made by the World Health Organization (WHO). The World Health Organization said on Friday (November 21) that the outbreak has killed 40 people out of 119 confirmed cases in Madagascar since late August and the disease could spread rapidly in the capital of Madagascar, where after two cases and one death had been recorded. Roger reiterated the information […]

Hagel, under pressure, resigns as U.S. defense secretary

  (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned on Monday, leaving under pressure as President Barack Obama faces critical national security challenges, including fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and revising plans to exit Afghanistan. It was the first major change to Obama’s Cabinet since his Democrats were routed in midterm elections three weeks ago, and Republicans, who now control both houses of Congress, are looking for a new approach from the White house. Hagel […]

Lifting of ban on HK journalists sought

  Malacañang has requested the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to review the blacklist order issued against nine Hong Kong television and radio journalists who allegedly heckled President Benigno Aquino III last year. “Ang amin pong kahilingan sa BI, dahil sila po ang nag-isyu ng Denial of Entry, ay ire-assess po nila iyong situwasyon,” Presidential Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a radio interview. (We will request the BI, because they […]

Iran nuclear talks expected to resume next month

(Reuters) – Iran and six world powers are expected to adjourn nuclear negotiations on Monday and reconvene next month after the latest round of talks failed to clinch a final deal, a source close to the talks said. Details about the adjournment and resumption of negotiations were still being worked out, though the source said on condition of anonymity that Iran could not expect any new sanctions relief for the time being. Possible venues include Vienna and Oman, the […]

Multi-national crew blasts off for space station

A Russian Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan on Sunday to deliver three new crew members to the International Space Station, including Italy’s first female astronaut. A Soyuz capsule holding incoming station commander Terry Virts, with the U.S. space agency NASA, Soyuz commander Anton Shkaplerov, with the Russian Federal Space Agency, and first-time flier Samantha Cristoforetti, with the European Space Agency, lifted off at 4:01 p.m. EST (2101 GMT). They were […]

Filipinos celebrate Pacquiao’s win VS. Algieri

(Reuters) – Filipinos erupted in jubilation as the country’s boxing hero Manny Pacquiao outclassed American challenger Chris Algieri to retain his WBO welterweight title in Macau on Sunday. Cinemas, hotels, public parks and even army bases across the Philippines witnessed celebration as Pacquiao, the only boxer to win world titles in eight weight divisions, dominated the inexperienced New York-based former kickboxer. “The fire is back, the old deadly form is back,” said Mario Santos, a boxing […]

Pacquiao scores six knockdowns in title defense

(Reuters) – Manny Pacquiao knocked down American challenger Chris Algieri six times to retain his WBO welterweight championship in Macau on Sunday morning. The first knockdown, in the second round, was a combination of a Pacquiao punch and Algieri slipping on the canvas but in the sixth round Algieri tumbled head over heels after a Pacquiao barrage and went down again in the same round from a right hook. A fierce left cross in the […]

Ebola death toll rises to 5,459; Cuban doctor ‘stable’

(Reuters) – The death toll in the Ebola epidemic has risen to 5,459 out of 15,351 cases identified in eight countries by the end of Nov. 18, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. The figures showed an increase of 39 recorded deaths and 106 new cases since those issued on Wednesday. “Transmission remains intense in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” the WHO said, referring to the three hardest-hit West African countries that account […]

Protesters clash with police in Mexico City

Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and clashed with riot police outside Mexico City’s National Palace on Thursday (November 20) as thousands protested against President Enrique Pena Nieto’s handling of the apparent massacre of 43 trainee school teachers. Hundreds of police in riot gear blocked access to the palace in the capital’s main square, the Zocalo, where thousands of protesters had gathered in support of the students, apparently murdered after their abduction by corrupt police on September 26. Three marches had […]