BEIJING, China (AFP) — Three students were killed in a laboratory blast at a Beijing university on Wednesday, the city’s fire department said. “There was an explosion at the experimental site during a scientific research experiment” on wastewater treatment in the Environmental Engineering Laboratory, the Beijing Fire Department said. “The accident caused three students to die,” it added in a statement posted on its social media account. The incident happened just after 9:30am (0130 GMT) […]
Asia
IS-claimed attack on Libya foreign ministry kills at least three
by Imed Lamloum Agence France-Presse TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Suicide attackers stormed the Libyan foreign ministry in the capital Tripoli on Tuesday, killing at least three people including a senior civil servant in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. Twenty-one other people were wounded in the attack, authorities said. A car bomb exploded near the ministry, prompting security forces to rush to the scene, said special forces spokesman Tarak al-Dawass. A suicide bomber […]
Syrian air defenses shoot down Israeli missiles: state media
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Syrian air defenses shot down Israeli missiles near the capital Damascus on Tuesday, local state media reported, while Israel said it was protecting itself from anti-aircraft fire. The official Syrian news agency SANA said air defenses “intercepted hostile missiles launched by the Israeli warplanes” from over Lebanese territories, citing a military source. It added that the majority of them were downed before reaching their targets near the capital Damascus. Three soldiers […]
Two Koreas to pledge road, rail links on divided peninsula
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A South Korean delegation left for North Korea on Wednesday to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for reconnecting roads and railways across the divided peninsula despite stalled denuclearisation talks. A nine-car special train carrying some 100 South Koreans, including officials and five people born in the North, was seen leaving Seoul railway station early in the morning for a two-hour journey to the North’s border city of Kaesong. South Korean President […]
Eight killed in China as hijacked bus crashes into pedestrians
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Eight people were killed and 22 injured after a hijacked bus crashed into pedestrians in east China’s Fujian province on Tuesday afternoon, state media reported. A hijacker carrying a knife has been detained and is being investigated by local police, state television CGTN said. The incident happened at about 3:20 pm (0720 GMT) in the city of Longyan, the local Minxi Ribao newspaper reported. A policeman was among those confirmed dead. […]
Five killed in China as hijacked bus crashes into pedestrians
BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least five people were killed and 21 injured after a hijacked bus crashed into pedestrians in east China’s Fujian province on Tuesday afternoon, state media reported. A hijacker carrying a knife has been detained and is being investigated by local police, state television CGTN reported. The incident happened at about 3:20 pm in the city of Longyan, the local Minxi Ribao newspaper reported. A policeman was among the five […]
At least 43 killed in Kabul govt compound attack
by Emal HAIDARY / Usman SHARIFI Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — An hour-long gun and suicide attack on a Kabul government compound killed at least 43 people, the health ministry said Tuesday, making it one of the deadliest assaults on the Afghan capital this year. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the raid, which caps a bloody year for Afghanistan as long-suffering civilians and security forces are slaughtered in record numbers. […]
Sick, hungry Indonesia tsunami survivors cram shelters as death toll nears 400
by Harry PEARL Agence France Presse CARITA, Indonesia (AFP) — Desperately needed aid flowed into a stretch of Indonesia’s tsunami-struck coastline Tuesday, but humanitarian workers warned that clean water and medicine supplies were dwindling as thousands crammed makeshift evacuation centres. Fears about a public health crisis come as the death toll from Saturday’s volcano-triggered disaster rose to nearly 400 with thousands more displaced from flattened homes. “A lot of the children are sick with […]
South Korea to fine BMW $10 mn over engine fires response
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea said Monday it will fine German automaker BMW 11.2 billion won ($10 million) for allegedly dragging its feet in recalling cars with faulty engines linked to dozens of engine fires. BMW vehicles bursting into flames made headlines in South Korea earlier this year, with local media reporting more than 40 cases in 2018 and some parking lots refusing to accept BMW cars over fears they could catch fire. […]
222 dead as volcano-triggered tsunami hits Indonesia
by Muhammad Ary A volcano-triggered tsunami has left at least 222 people dead and hundreds more injured after slamming without warning into beaches around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, officials said Sunday, voicing fears that the toll would rise further. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which hit the coast of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9:30 pm (1430 GMT) on Saturday after a volcano known as the “child” of Krakatoa erupted, […]
URGENT: Death toll from Indonesia tsunami rises to 222: officials
The death toll from a volcano-triggered tsunami in Indonesia has risen to 222, with more than 800 people injured, officials said Sunday. “222 people are dead, 843 people are injured and 28 people are missing,” Indonesia’s national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. “This number is predicted to increase because not all victims have been successfully evacuated, not all health centres have reported victims and not all locations have got complete data.” hp/aph © […]
Shocking video shows tsunami rip through stage as band performs
Dramatic video posted online showed the tsunami that struck Indonesia smashing into an open-air concert, hurling members of a pop band from the stage and slamming into the audience. Riefian Fajarsyah, lead vocalist of the band “Seventeen” later posted an emotional video to his 260,000 Instagram followers in which he said the group’s bassist and road manager were killed. The band were playing Saturday night to a large crowd in a marquee at the […]





