International

China unveils new cyber force to ‘fight and win’ wars

BEIJING, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – China announced the creation of a new military cyber corps on Friday, saying it would bolster Beijing’s capacity to “fight and win” wars. The Information Support Force will act as a “key support for coordinated development and application of network information systems”, defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said. China has ploughed billions of dollars into modernising its armed forces in recent years as tensions with the United States and […]

Remote Indonesia volcano erupts again after thousands evacuated

By Ronny Adolof Buol, with Marchio Gorbiano in Jakarta TAGULANDANG, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – A remote Indonesian volcano sent a tower of ash spewing into the sky Friday, after nearly half a dozen eruptions earlier this week forced thousands to evacuate when molten rocks rained down on their villages. Mount Ruang in Indonesia’s outermost region of North Sulawesi started erupting late Tuesday, stirring a spectacular mix of fiery orange lava, a towering ash column […]

China’s Wang meets Indonesia’s Jokowi, president-elect Prabowo

JAKARTA  (AFP)  – China’s top diplomat met Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto on Thursday as Beijing seeks to boost its regional influence. The meetings come after Prabowo visited Beijing this month where Chinese President Xi Jinping praised relations with Jakarta, laying out a vision for regional peace as tensions rise between Beijing and other Southeast Asian neighbours — including the Philippines over the disputed South China Sea. Indonesian defence minister Prabowo […]

H5N1 strain of bird flu found in milk: WHO

GENEVA, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The H5N1 bird flu virus strain has been detected in very high concentrations in raw milk from infected animals, the WHO said Friday, though how long the virus can survive in milk is unknown. Avian influenza A(H5N1) first emerged in 1996 but since 2020, the number of outbreaks in birds has grown exponentially, alongside an increase in the number of infected mammals. The strain has led to the deaths […]

ASEAN ‘deeply concerned’ by escalating Myanmar violence

By Rose TROUP BUCHANAN BANGKOK, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN said it is “deeply concerned” about a recent upsurge in fighting in Myanmar, after fierce clashes over a key trading hub on the Thai border. The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations urged “all parties for an immediate cessation of violence” in Myanmar, which has been roiled by conflict since the military seized power in a February […]

Three Filipinos dead in UAE floods: officials

DUBAI, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – Three workers from the Philippines have died in heavy flooding in the United Arab Emirates, Filipino officials announced, as the desert country struggled on Friday to recover from record rains. Two women suffocated inside their vehicle during the flooding and one man died when his vehicle fell into a sinkhole, the Philippine’s Department of Migrant Workers said in a statement. The women died in Dubai — the first confirmed […]

‘Cried every day’: Kenya cult families struggle for closure

By Hillary ORINDE MALINDI, Kenya, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – A year after school teacher Francis Wanje lost eight family members to a Kenyan doomsday cult, he is still reckoning with the horror and haunted by unanswered questions. His daughter was one of 429 people whose bodies were exhumed last year from shallow graves in a sun-scorched forest near the Indian Ocean town of Malindi. “It has been a very tough journey. A very tough […]

IAEA says ‘no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites’

VIENNA, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – There has been no damage to Iranian nuclear sites following explosions Friday in the centre of Iran that have been described as Israeli revenge attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. “IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites,” the Vienna-based agency said on X, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation. The agency called for “extreme restraint from everybody” and added that […]

Australia tells citizens to depart Israel, Palestinian territories if ‘safe to do so’

SYDNEY, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – Australia on Friday told its citizens to leave Israel if possible, citing a “high threat of military reprisals and terrorist attacks”, issuing a similar warning for the Palestinian territories. “We urge Australians in both Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories to depart if it’s safe to do so,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a travel advisory update. Australia’s government had previously told citizens to avoid travel to […]

United States had advance warning of Israel attack on Iran: US media

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The United States received advance notice of Israel’s reported strike on Iran but did not endorse the operation or play any part in its execution, US media quoted officials as saying. NBC and CNN, citing sources familiar with the matter and a US official, respectively, said Israel had provided Washington with pre-notification of the strike. Various networks cited officials confirming a strike had taken place inside Iran, with CNN […]

Explosions in Iran, US media reports Israeli strikes

TEHRAN, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – Iran’s state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan Friday, as US media quoted officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival. Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the country’s official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan. Israel had previously warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones […]

CIA warns Ukraine could lose war this year without fresh aid

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – The CIA chief warned Thursday that Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year unless the United States sends more military aid. The grim warning by Bill Burns came as the US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Saturday on a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine that has been held up for months by Republican lawmakers allied with Donald Trump as he […]