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by Anuj Chopra with Sarah Stewart in Dubai Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure as an “act of war”, as Riyadh unveiled new evidence it said showed the assault was “unquestionably” sponsored by arch-foe Iran. The comments raise the risk of a wider conflict in the tinderbox Gulf region after the weekend strikes on the heart of the kingdom’s […]
by Kyoko HASEGAWA Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese court on Thursday acquitted three former power company executives of professional negligence in the only criminal prosecution stemming from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown. The three men were senior officials at the TEPCO firm operating the Fukushima Daiichi plant and faced up to five years in prison if convicted. “All defendants are not guilty,” the presiding judge announced to the Tokyo courtroom, […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China will auction 10,000 tonnes of reserve pork this week, the commerce ministry said, in a bid to control the fallout from an outbreak of African swine fever that has sent prices soaring and hit supplies of the meat ahead of a key holiday. Beijing has been struggling to control the disease, which has ripped through its massive pig-farming industry, leading to the culling of more than a million of the […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China will auction 10,000 tonnes of reserve pork this week, the commerce ministry said, in a bid to control the fallout from an outbreak of African swine fever that has sent prices soaring and hit supplies of the meat ahead of a key holiday. Beijing has been struggling to control the disease, which has ripped through its massive pig-farming industry, leading to the culling of more than a million of the animals. […]
TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Benny Gantz, the main challenger to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the country’s general election, called for a broad unity government early Wednesday as exit surveys showed a tight race. “We will act to form a broad unity government that will express the will of the people,” Gantz told supporters at a post-election rally in Tel Aviv. He however cautioned that he was waiting for final results. “We will […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Disgraced Cardinal George Pell lodged an appeal against his child sex abuse convictions in Australia’s High Court on Tuesday, an official in Canberra said. It is the final avenue of appeal for the 78-year-old — who is serving a six-year sentence for sexually assaulting two choirboys in the 1990s — to get out of jail and clear his name. The former Vatican treasurer who once helped elect popes, last month […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea on Tuesday reported its first cases of African swine fever, becoming the latest country hit by the disease that has killed pigs from China to North Korea, pushing up pork prices worldwide. Five pigs found dead at a farm in Paju, a city near the inter-Korean border, were confirmed to have been infected with the virus, an official with Seoul’s agriculture ministry told AFP. “At this point, it’s […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Monday urged the United States and Iran to “exercise restraint” after a drone attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, which Washington has blamed on Tehran. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also said it was not responsible to accuse others “in the absence of a conclusive investigation or verdict”. “The Chinese side’s position is that we oppose all actions that enlarge or intensify conflict,” she told reporters at a […]
by Daniel Silva Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday visited the country’s flood-stricken southeastern regions as the death toll rose to six and train and air services were disrupted for a third day. Some of the heaviest daily rainfall on record has inundated areas in the regions since Wednesday, causing chaos on the roads, cutting public transport and prompting rivers to burst their banks. Flash floods […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s world first floating nuclear power station on Saturday completed a 5,000-kilometre (3,100-mile) Arctic transfer to the country’s far east, the Rosatom nuclear agency said. “The Akademik Lomonosov floating nuclear plant arrived … at Pevek, in the autonomous district of Chukotka,” where it is to start operating by year end once connected to the local electricity grid, Rosatom said. What will be the world’s northernmost nuclear power plant left Murmansk […]
by Jerome TAYLOR Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Fights erupted in Hong Kong on Saturday with political rivals trading blows in a mall and Beijing supporters using Chinese flags to assault opponents on a street, deepening the city’s polarisation after months of pro-democracy protests. The once-stable international hub has been convulsed by weeks of huge, sometimes violent rallies calling for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability. The movement is the biggest […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Wednesday it was encouraged by North Korea’s stated willingness to resume negotiations but criticized its latest firing of projectiles as counterproductive. “It was an encouraging sign that they would like to return to negotiations and that’s something we welcome,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters. “We’re committed to talking and negotiating with the North Koreans,” she said. North Korea earlier this week said that it […]
