Other News

Magnitude 6.9 quake hits Papua New Guinea: USGS

SYDNEY, March 24, 2024 (AFP) A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit northern Papua New Guinea on Sunday morning, the United States Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was “no tsunami threat” from the inland quake, which struck at 6:22 am local time (2022 GMT Saturday) at a depth of approximately 35 kilometres (21 miles). The “notable quake” hit some 88 kilometres (54 miles) southwest of Wewak, the USGS said, a town of […]

NBA bans Utah’s Dunn for two games and Houston’s Smith one

Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn was suspended two games and Houston forward Jabari Smith Jr. was banned for one game by the NBA on Sunday after they fought during a game. The altercation took place five seconds into the second quarter of Houston’s 147-119 home victory over Utah on Saturday. Dunn was suspended for initiating an altercation and throwing a punch at Smith, who received a one-game fighting ban. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=730150799247290 Both players were issued technical […]

PAGASA: Easterlies affecting eastern section of PHL

(Eagle News)–The easterlies are affecting the eastern section of the country. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said, Eastern Visayas and Caraga will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. Flashfloods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains are possible. Metro Manila will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. According to the weather bureau, the rest of the country will experience the […]

Four suspects remanded in custody over Moscow concert hall massacre

MOSCOW, March 25, 2024 (AFP) – Four men accused of involvement in a massacre at a Moscow concert hall that killed 137 people were remanded in custody Sunday, as Russia observed a national day of mourning following the attack claimed by the Islamic State. All four suspects have been charged with terrorism, according to Moscow’s Basmanny district court, and face life imprisonment. Their detention is set until May 22 but may be extended depending on […]

Philippines says three soldiers hurt by China water cannon

MANILA, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – Three Philippine troops were injured in the latest China Coast Guard water cannon attack on a Filipino supply vessel near a South China Sea reef, Manila’s national security adviser said Sunday. The Philippine government said Saturday’s confrontation caused severe damage to the Unaizah May 4 vessel while it was on its way to deliver troops and provisions to a Philippine navy ship grounded atop the Second Thomas Shoal. China […]

PBBM signs laws renaming some circumferential and bypass roads, a bridge

National highway in Goa also named  (Eagle News)–President Bongbong Marcos has signed four new laws renaming several circumferential and bypass roads, a bridge and a national highway. The Presidential Communications Office said the President, through Republic Act No. 11987, in particular, renamed the Bohol Island Circumferential Road, which traverses through Barangay Poblacion III northwards of Tagbilaran City, as the President Carlos P. Garcia Circumferential Road. The Urdaneta City Bypass Road, which goes through Barangays Nancayasan, […]

Five not-so-famous things about the Impressionist movement

By Olivier THIBAULT and Emilie BICKERTON PARIS, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – As the art world marks 150 years since Impressionism burst onto the canvas in a blurry riot of colour, here are five little-known facts about the wildly popular movement. – ‘Wallpaper pattern’ – “Impressionism” was never meant as a compliment. While today works by artists such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas fetch eye-popping sums at auction, reviews after their inaugural […]

Paris museum takes visitors back 150 years to Impressionism’s birth

By Eric RANDOLPH PARIS, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – The Orsay Museum in Paris is marking 150 years of Impressionism from Tuesday with an unprecedented reassembling of the masterpieces that launched the movement, and a virtual reality experience that takes visitors back in time. Using VR technology, visitors to “Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism” can take a plunge into the streets, salons and beauty spots that marked a revolution in art. Through VR helmets, they can […]

Russian cruise missile breaches Polish airspace: army

WARSAW, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – A Russian cruise missile fired at towns in western Ukraine breached Polish airspace, Poland’s army said Sunday. For about 40 seconds, “Polish airspace was breached by one of the cruise missiles fired in the night by the air forces… of the Russian Federation,” the army wrote on social media platform X. “The object flew through Polish airspace above the village of Oserdow (Lublin province) and stayed for 39 seconds,” […]

McDonald’s stores shut in Sri Lanka over poor hygiene case

COLOMBO, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – McDonald’s stores across Sri Lanka shut Sunday after the US fast-food giant launched a legal battle with its local franchise holder over allegations of poor hygiene, court officials said. The Commercial High Court of Colombo ordered the closures until April 4, after the parent company accused the local franchise holder of failing to meet international hygiene standards. “The closure was ordered pending an investigation,” a court official said. He […]

More than 130 kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren released

By Laurie CHURCHMAN ABUJA, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – More than 130 schoolchildren seized by gunmen in a mass kidnapping in northwestern Nigeria earlier this month were released unharmed on Sunday, officials and the army said. The kidnapping in Kuriga, Kaduna state on March 7 was one of the biggest such attacks in years and prompted a national outcry over insecurity. Teachers and residents previously said around 280 pupils were kidnapped, but the army said […]

Kyiv and Ukraine’s Lviv region come under Russian air attack

KYIV, Ukraine, March 24, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and the western region of Lviv came under a “massive” Russian air attack early Sunday, officials said, and Polish forces were also placed on heightened readiness. Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a series of deadly aerial attacks, with Sunday’s strikes also coming a day after the Russian military said it had seized the Ukrainian village of Ivanivske west of Bakhmut. A militant attack […]