MAE SAI, Thailand (AFP) — A new video released Wednesday filmed in the bowels of a northern Thai cave showed members of a trapped football team laughing as they greet the camera to say they are in good health after their astonishing discovery by divers. The footage, published by the Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page, runs by 11 of the 13 members of the team, each makes a traditional Thai greeting gesture to the camera […]
Asia
‘Hang in there!’ Chilean miner tells trapped Thai boys
by Sofia Miselem Agence France-Presse MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mario Sepulveda, one of the Chilean miners who was trapped underground for 69 days in 2010, had a moving message of encouragement Wednesday for the boys’ football team trapped in a cave in Thailand: “Hang in there!” In a video message sent to AFP, Sepulveda — known as “Super Mario” for helping keep his comrades’ spirits up during their ordeal — said his thoughts were with […]
Ex-Malaysian PM Najib charged with corruption
by M. Jegathesa Agence France-Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was formally charged Wednesday with corruption linked to a multi-billion dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat less than two months ago. The first ex-premier in Malaysia to appear before a judge, Najib pleaded not guilty to three counts of criminal breach of trust and a separate charge that he abused his position to pocket 42 […]
Ex-Malaysian PM Najib appears in court on graft charges
by M. Jegathesa Agence France-Presse KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived in court Wednesday to face charges he embezzled millions of dollars of public money, in a stunning fall from grace for a national leader. A scrum of journalists greeted Najib, 64, as he became the first ex-premier in Malaysia to appear in front of a judge. A tired-looking Najib was escorted by around 20 police officers into a […]
Death toll in Indonesia ferry accident rises to 24: official
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) – At least 24 people, including children, died Tuesday after a ferry ran aground off the coast of Indonesia, officials said, as rescuers raced to save scores of other passengers still missing or stranded aboard the vessel in rough seas. The deadly incident came on the same day authorities officially called off the search for more than 160 people still missing after another ferry sank on a popular tourist lake in Sumatra […]
Watch: Video of trapped children after being discovered alive in a cave in Thailand
Twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave for nine days were found alive late Monday, sparking elation after days of painstaking searching by specialist divers through muddy waters and winding tunnels. There had been no contact with the boys, aged between 11 and 16, since they went missing with their 25-year-old coach last Saturday. The massive rescue effort had for days been hampered by heavy rains that flooded […]
Agonizing rescue ahead for Thai boys trapped in cave as nation rejoices
by Jenny Vaughan/ Sippachai Kunnuwong Agence France Presse MAE SAI, Thailand (AFP) — Rescuers braced for a long and difficult evacuation for 13 members of a Thai youth football team found alive in a cave nine days after they went missing, as food and medicine was shuttled to them through muddy waters on Tuesday. The 12 young boys and their football coach were discovered rake thin and hungry on a mound of mud surrounded […]
Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak arrested
by M Jegathesan Agence France Presse Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was arrested by anti-corruption investigators Tuesday, officials said, the latest dramatic development in a widening graft probe that has engulfed the ex-leader. Najib will be charged Wednesday, a taskforce set up to investigate corruption involving Malaysian state fund 1MDB said in a statement adding the arrest “was made at his home”. The arrest is the latest in a series of stunning moves by […]
Basketball diplomacy: S. Korea teams head for Pyongyang
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A high-level South Korean delegation left for Pyongyang Tuesday with dozens of basketball players, as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s favourite sport becomes the latest effort at athletic diplomacy between the neighbours. Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead the delegation of 50 male and female players, in the first visit to Pyongyang by an official from the South since Kim and US President Donald Trump’s landmark summit in Singapore last […]
Updated: Thai cave boys to get 4 months’ food, and diving training
MAE SAI, Thailand (AFP) — Twelve boys and their football coach found alive in a Thai cave will be supplied with four months’ worth of food and get diving training, the military said, as focus shifted to the tricky task of evacuating the group from the complex underground system. The boys aged between 11 and 16, were discovered with their 25-year-old coach late Monday, rake thin but alive, huddled on a ledge deep inside a flooded […]
Thai boys found alive after nine days trapped in cave
by Sippachai Kunnuwong © Agence France-Presse MAE SAI, Thailand (AFP) – Twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave for nine days were found alive late Monday after a painstaking search by specialist divers who finally discovered the emaciated group on a mud embankment. There had been no contact with the boys, aged between 11 and 16, since they went missing with their 25-year-old coach on June 23. The massive international […]
US envoy Pompeo to return to North Korea this week
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads back to North Korea this week to flesh out the bare bones nuclear agreement between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un. Pompeo will leave Washington on Thursday for Pyongyang at the start of a round-the-world diplomatic mission that will bring him to Brussels and a key NATO summit, officials said. Trump has boasted that a statement he signed with Kim in […]





