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QUITO, June 20, 2024 (AFP) – Ecuador suffered a nationwide blackout for several hours Wednesday as the electrical grid failed, with metro services, road traffic and other critical services crippled. The blackout hit abruptly just after 3:00 pm local time, surprising subway riders in the capital Quito as trains came to a halt and hundreds of people were evacuated. Some were forced to walk long distances through dark metro tunnels until finding an exit. Three […]
RIYADH, June 20, 2024 (AFP) – The death toll from this year’s hajj has exceeded 1,000, an AFP tally said on Thursday, more than half of them unregistered worshippers who performed the pilgrimage in extreme heat in Saudi Arabia. The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that of 658 Egyptians who passed away, 630 were unregistered pilgrims. All told, around 10 countries have […]
MANILA, June 20, 2024 (AFP) – Chinese coast guard sailors brandishing weapons including sticks, knives and an axe clashed with Philippine naval vessels near a strategic reef in the South China Sea, dramatic new footage released by Manila showed. The clash took place Monday as Philippine forces attempted to resupply marines stationed on a derelict warship deliberately grounded atop the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, Manila said. Fresh footage of the confrontation released late Wednesday by […]
By Cat Barton and Claire Lee SEOUL, June 19, 2024 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defence agreement on Wednesday with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, who offered his “full support” on Ukraine. The pledge of military cooperation was part of a strategic treaty signed during a summit in Pyongyang, where Putin was making his first visit in 24 years. “It is really a breakthrough document,” Putin said at a news conference […]
By Matthew WALSH BEIJING, June 19, 2024 (AFP) – Ramming boats, building militarised islands and threatening perceived trespassers — China is escalating confrontations with the Philippines in a bid to push it out of the South China Sea, analysts say. One of the most perilous flashpoints between the two nations is a submerged reef called the Second Thomas Shoal, where in 1999 the Philippine navy intentionally marooned a decrepit World War II ship to assert […]
MANILA, June 19, 2024 (AFP) – The Philippine military said Wednesday the Chinese coast guard rammed and boarded Filipino navy boats in a violent confrontation in the South China Sea this week in which a Filipino sailor lost a thumb. Monday’s incident was the latest in a series of escalating confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months as Beijing steps up efforts to push its claims to the disputed area. Filipino military chief […]
SEOUL, June 19, 2024 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet Wednesday in Pyongyang for a summit where they are widely expected to discuss ways to boost sanctions-busting military ties. Kim greeted Putin at the airport, with the two internationally isolated leaders hugging on the red carpet, photographs in North Korean state media showed, underscoring the increasingly close relationship that has sparked concern in Seoul and Washington. […]
TEHRAN, June 18, 2024 (AFP) – At least four people were killed and 120 injured Tuesday in a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Iran’s northeastern city of Kashmar, state media reported. The quake struck at 1:24 pm (0954 GMT), Kashmar’s governor, Hajatollah Shariatmadari, who gave the casualty toll, said on state television. Thirty-five people were hospitalised, he said, adding the quake damaged mostly dilapidated buildings in urban and rural areas of the city. State television […]
LIMA, June 17, 2024 (AFP) – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of southern Peru on Sunday but there was no immediate threat of tsunami, government scientists said. The Geophysical Institute of Peru said the quake was centered in the Pacific at a depth of 25 kilometers (16 miles) off the coast of Arequipa department. The government decided against activating the tsunami warning system. The US Geological Survey put the magnitude 6.0 and […]
PARIS, June 18, 2024 (AFP) – Astronomers have been able to observe a supermassive black hole waking up and setting the heart of its host galaxy alight for the first time, the European Southern Observatory said on Tuesday. The galaxy 300 million light years from Earth in the Virgo constellation had been quiet for decades until late 2019, when it suddenly began to shine brighter than ever before. The centre of the galaxy — where […]
PARIS, June 18, 2024 (AFP) – A new report backed by climate scientists and athletes warned Tuesday about the dangers of extreme high temperatures at this year’s Paris Olympics. The “Rings of Fire” report — a collaboration between non-profit Climate Central, academics at Britain’s University of Portsmouth and 11 Olympians — said conditions in Paris could be worse than the last Games in Tokyo in 2021. It warned that “intense heat at the Paris Olympics […]
By Bhuvan BAGGA NEW DELHI, June 18, 2024 (AFP) – Searing heatwave temperatures in northern India pushed power demand to a record high, the government said Tuesday, with residents of the capital New Delhi also struggling with water shortages. Much of northern India has been gripped by a brutal month-long heatwave, with temperatures regularly soaring above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Northern India has “been experiencing high demand conditions due to a prevailing heat […]
