TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Police in Iran said they have arrested three people accused of trying to sell babies on Instagram, semi-official news agency ISNA reported Wednesday. “Three people who were seeking to sell two babies have been arrested,” Tehran’s police chief Hossein Rahimi was quoted as saying. One of the babies was 20 days old and the other was two months, Rahimi said. Police had been alerted about “ads on Instagram for selling babies”, […]
Asia
Human error caused Pakistan plane crash that killed 97: initial report
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — A plane crash which killed 97 people in Pakistan last month was because of human error by the pilot and air traffic control, according to an initial report into the disaster released Wednesday. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on May 22 after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, killing all but two people on board. “The pilot as well as the controller didn’t follow […]
North Korea’s Kim suspends military plans against South: KCNA
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suspended plans for military action against the South, state media reported Wednesday in an apparent sudden dialling-down of tensions after Pyongyang blew up a liaison office. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations of Seoul over anti-North leaflets, which defectors based in the South send across the border — usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles. Last week […]
Maldives to reopen tourist resorts from mid-July after virus closures
MALE, Maldives (AFP) — The Maldives will reopen its tourist resorts from mid-July after a months-long virus-enforced shutdown, the country’s president said Tuesday, adding that international travellers would be welcomed to the Indian Ocean holiday hotspot. Tourism is a major earner for the Maldives, a tropical island paradise popular with honeymooners and celebrities. “The country will reopen its borders for international travel, and the government will allow resorts to welcome visitors from July 15,” President […]
Saudi coalition says intercepts Huthi missile on Riyadh
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — The Saudi-led military coalition said Tuesday it had intercepted and destroyed drones and ballistic missiles launched into the kingdom by Yemen’s Huthi rebels, including one fired towards Riyadh. Witnesses told AFP that they heard blasts at dawn from their homes in the capital. Coalition forces “managed… to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Huthi militia from Sanaa towards Riyadh in a deliberate hostile operation,” coalition spokesman […]
Kyrgyzstan ex-leader sentenced to 11 years in crime boss case
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AFP) — Kyrgyzstan’s former president was sentenced to 11 years in jail Tuesday over the illegal release of a crime boss, in a case that caused a power struggle with his successor to turn violent. The presiding judge at a court in the capital Bishkek handed Almazbek Atambayev the sentence of 11 years and two months and ruled the ex-leader be stripped of all-state honors as well as his homes and businesses. Atambayev, […]
China, India agree to reduce tensions after deadly clash
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — China and India have agreed to reduce tensions a week after clashes on their disputed Himalayan border left 20 Indian troops dead in brutal hand-to-hand fighting. The June 15 battle, reportedly fought with fists, clubs and rocks, was the first time troops have been killed on their border since 1975 and marked a major deterioration in ties between the two Asian giants. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that […]
WHO warns of ‘accelerating’ pandemic as Brazil reaches 50,000 deaths
by Mohamad Ali Harissi with Isabelle Tourne in Paris DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The World Health Organization sent out a fresh warning on Monday over the dangers of the new coronavirus even as France returned to life by staging an annual music festival and sending millions of children back to school. In spite of numerous European countries further easing their lockdown restrictions, cases around the world are rising especially in Latin America with […]
Saudi ends virus lockdown despite spike in infections
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Sunday ended a nationwide coronavirus curfew and lifted restrictions on businesses, including hair salons and cinemas, after three months of stringent curbs, despite a spike in infections. International flights and religious pilgrimages, however, remain suspended and social gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited, according to the interior ministry. But Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media announced the reopening of cinemas across the kingdom with […]
Iran reports over 100 new virus deaths for third day running
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iranian health authorities reported over 100 new deaths from the novel coronavirus Sunday for the third day running, stressing that the outbreak had not yet peaked in the hard-hit country. Iran reported its first coronavirus cases on February 19 and has since struggled to contain the outbreak, the deadliest in the Middle East. The Islamic republic recorded its lowest single-day death toll in early May, before seeing a new rise in […]
N. Korea says millions of leaflets readied against South
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea said on Monday it has readied thousands of balloons and millions of leaflets in preparation for “retaliatory punishment” against South Korea. The detail, in a state media report, came a day after the North said it was preparing to begin an anti-South leaflet campaign following a series of vitriolic condemnations of Seoul because of anti-North leaflets floated over the border. Defectors in the South send such leaflets which […]
China begins prosecution of two Canadians on spying charges
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has formally charged two Canadians with spying, officials said Friday, more than 18 months after they were arrested in a spat between Beijing and Ottawa. The pair were detained shortly after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada on a US warrant, in what is widely believed to have been a retaliatory move from China. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate said ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were “suspected […]





