Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
The Taliban were on the brink of total victory in Afghanistan on Sunday, with their fighters ordered to wait on the outskirts of the capital and the government conceding it was preparing for a “transfer of power”. The Taliban’s militants surrounded Kabul following an astonishingly quick rout of government forces, who proved incapable of holding onto territory without US military support. The fall of Kabul will see the hardline Islamic group take back power two […]
The Taliban movement’s inner workings and leadership have always been largely shrouded in secrecy, even during their rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. As the hardline Islamic group appears to be on the brink of regaining power, here is a rundown of what little is known about its leadership. – Haibatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader – Haibatullah Akhundzada was appointed leader of the Taliban in a swift power transition after a US drone […]
Thousands of protesters in cars and on bikes massed in Bangkok’s central shopping district Sunday, one of several mobile rallies across Thailand demanding Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha resign over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The kingdom is grappling with its worst outbreak so far, registering record numbers of daily infections each week as hospitals struggle to cope. In total, it has reported more than 907,000 cases and 7,551 deaths from Covid-19. A sluggish vaccine roll-out […]
Malaysia’s embattled leader will offer his resignation to the king Monday, a minister said, potentially spelling an end to his 17-month-old government and plunging the country into fresh turmoil. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has faced mounting pressure to step aside after losing his parliamentary majority, and over his administration’s handling of a worsening coronavirus outbreak. He made a last-ditch attempt to cling to power Friday by urging opposition MPs to support him in exchange for […]
At least 20 people were killed and nearly 80 others wounded when a fuel tanker exploded in Lebanon’s northern region of Akkar, the Red Cross and state media said on Sunday. The tragedy heaped new misery on a country already suffering from an economic crisis and severe fuel shortages that have crippled hospitals and caused long power cuts. “Our teams have transported 20 dead bodies … from the fuel tanker explosion in #AKKAR to hospitals […]
Turkey battled disaster on two fronts on Saturday with eight people dying when a fire-fighting aircraft crashed and rescuers racing to find survivors of flash floods in the north that have killed at least 55. Ankara and Moscow announced that all eight people on the Russian plane had perished on the fire-fighting mission. The air tragedy came just as Turkey was gaining control of hundreds of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of […]
Japan braced for further downpours on Sunday as rescuers sifted through flood and landslide damage after record rain that left at least three dead. Residents returned to check on their mud-covered homes in the southwest, where nearly two million people were advised to urgently seek shelter Saturday as rivers overflowed. “So many logs tumbled down and crashed into this area” from nearby mountains, an elderly resident of Kanzaki in Saga prefecture told public broadcaster NHK. […]
The Taliban raced closer to a complete military takeover of Afghanistan on Sunday after capturing more major cities, leaving only the isolated capital Kabul for them to conquer. The insurgents took control of the key eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday, just hours after the seizing the northern anti-Taliban bastion of Mazar-i-Sharif — furthering an astonishing rout of government forces and warlord militias achieved in just 10 days. “We woke up this morning to the […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said the scale of natural disasters that have hit Russia this year has been “absolutely unprecedented”. Speaking at a video conference with officials on the effects of Siberia’s record-setting forest fires, he said it was “important” to work on the climate agenda “systematically.” While Siberia sees an annual wildfire season each summer, the fires have burned with an increasing intensity in recent years, which Russian […]
by Dmitry ZAKS ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — The death toll from Turkey’s flash floods soared to at least 38 on Friday as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited one of the hardest-hit cities to lead a prayer for the victims and pledge government help. The devastation across Turkey’s northern Black Sea regions came just as the disaster-hit country was gaining control over hundreds of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of forest along its […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Saturday recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll for a third day running, as the country continues to struggle with the Delta variant amid sluggish vaccination rates. A government tally showed 819 fatalities over the past 24 hours and 22,144 new cases. Russia, the fourth worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases, has since mid-June been hit by a new wave of infections driven by the aggressive […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — More than a million people were urged to seek shelter as torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in western Japan on Saturday, leaving at least one dead and two missing. Authorities in Hiroshima and the northern part of Kyushu issued their highest evacuation alert as the weather agency reported unprecedented levels of rain in the area. Under the non-compulsory alert, around 1.4 million residents have been asked to leave their […]
