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N. Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul says

SEOUL, July 1, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday, South Korea’s military said, a day after Pyongyang warned of “fatal consequences” following major joint exercises in the South. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the military had detected two launches, the first at 5:05 am (2005 GMT) and the second around 10 minutes later. “The short-range ballistic missile launched at around 05:05 flew approximately 600 km (372 miles),” […]

Chinese badminton player, 17, dies after collapsing on court

JAKARTA, July 1, 2024 (AFP) – A 17-year-old Chinese player has died after collapsing on court during an international tournament in Indonesia, badminton officials said on Monday. Zhang Zhijie was taken ill during a match late Sunday against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Asian Junior Badminton Mixed Team Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The score was 11-11 in the first game when Zhang suddenly fell to the floor. A doctor and medical team were quickly on […]

Seven dead after storms lash France, Switzerland

GENEVA, June 30, 2024 (AFP) – Ferocious storms and torrential rains that lashed France, Switzerland and Italy this weekend have left seven people dead, local authorities said on Sunday. Three people in their 70s and 80s died in France’s northeastern Aube region on Saturday when a tree crushed the car they were travelling in during fierce winds, the local authority told AFP. A fourth passenger was in critical care, it added. In neighbouring Switzerland, four […]

S. Korea administrative robot defunct after apparent suicide

SEOUL (AFP) – A city council in South Korea said Wednesday their first administrative officer robot was defunct after throwing itself down some stairs, with local media mourning the country’s first robot suicide. South Korea’s Gumi City Council announced the robot was found unresponsive after having apparently fallen down a two-meter (six-and-a-half foot) staircase last week. Witnesses saw the robot officer “circling in one spot as if something was there” before the accident occurred, but […]

N. Korea condemns drills by US, Japan, S. Korea as ‘Asian NATO’

SEOUL, June 30, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea denounced on Sunday joint military drills by South Korea, Japan and the United States, calling them an “Asian version of NATO” and warning of “fatal consequences”. It comes a day after the allies wrapped up three-day exercises, dubbed “Freedom Edge”, in ballistic missile and air defences, anti-submarine warfare and defensive cyber training. US, South Korean and Japanese leaders agreed at a trilateral summit last year to conduct […]

Caribbean braces as Hurricane Beryl strengthens to ‘very dangerous’ storm

By Chandan KHANNA BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 30, 2024 (AFP) – Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, strengthened into a “very dangerous” Category 3 storm Sunday morning as it threatened the southeast Caribbean with potential life-threatening winds and storm surge, US forecasters said. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Beryl — currently churning in the Atlantic Ocean about 420 miles (675 kilometers) east of Barbados — “continues to quickly strengthen this Sunday […]

Indonesia’s Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano erupts twice in a day

JAKARTA, June 29, 2024 (AFP) – Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in Eastern Indonesia erupted twice on Saturday, volcanology authorities said, sending thick, dark clouds into the air. The first eruption took place at 11:04 am local time (0304 GMT) and lasted nearly 11 minutes, according to a statement from the Indonesian volcanology agency. The second was at 2:41 pm and lasted a little over 10 minutes, spewing volcanic material 900 metres above the crater. “Residents and […]

Indonesia’s Mount Ibu erupts twice, belches tower of ash

JAKARTA, June 28, 2024 (AFP) – A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted twice on Friday, sending a hot cloud of ash as high as seven kilometres (4.3 miles) into the sky. The country’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation shared an image of the thick column of grey ash towering among white clouds around Mount Ibu, located on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province. No damage or casualties were immediately reported from […]

US, allies condemn N.Korea for sanctions-busting arms sales to Russia

UNITED NATIONS, United States, June 29, 2024 (AFP) – Washington and its allies challenged North Korea at the United Nations on Friday over claims Pyongyang is breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia to use in its war in Ukraine. Washington’s deputy envoy to the UN Robert Wood hit out at what he said were “unlawful arms transfers from the DPRK (North Korea) to Russia” as the two sides forge ever closer ties. […]

7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes off Peru, tsunami threat over: USGS

#UPDATE A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of central Peru on Friday, the United States Geological Survey says, but a tsunami threat from the tremor has passed. The USGS said the tremor hit 8.8 kilometers (5.5 miles) from Atiquipa district. Peru lies on the… pic.twitter.com/kWA4iETyxG — AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 28, 2024 LIMA, June 28, 2024 (AFP) – A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of central Peru on Friday, the […]

Biden, Trump clash sharply on records in high-stakes debate

By Andrew Caballero-Reynolds with Frankie Taggart and Shaun Tandon in Washington ATLANTA, June 28, 2024 (AFP) – Joe Biden and Donald Trump clashed sharply Thursday on their records on the economy, abortion and immigration at a debate with enormous stakes as each candidate seeks an advantage in their tight race for the White House. The unprecedented face-off between a current and former president was taking place far earlier than usual in the election cycle, an […]

Bolivian army chief arrested after failed coup attempt

By José Arturo Cárdenas LA PAZ, June 27, 2024 (AFP) – Bolivia’s army chief was arrested Wednesday after sending soldiers and tanks to take up position in front of government buildings in what President Luis Arce called an attempted coup. The troops and tanks entered Plaza Murillo, a historic square where the presidency and Congress are situated, in the afternoon, prompting global condemnation of an attack on democracy. One of the tanks tried to break […]