Asia

Strikes on Syria’s Ghouta kill 500 civilians, including 121 children, in seven days: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Air strikes and artillery fire on the Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta have killed 500 civilians in seven days, 121 of them children, a monitor said on Saturday. Deadly new strikes hit the enclave as the UN Security Council prepared to vote on a ceasefire resolution, while more bodies were recovered from the rubble from previous raids, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.   Few of Eastern Ghouta’s nearly […]

Trump announces ‘heaviest ever’ sanctions on North Korea

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump has rolled out fresh sanctions against North Korea-linked shipping assets, hailing the package as the “heaviest sanctions ever” levied on the Pyongyang regime. Trump used a speech to conservatives just outside Washington to step up his campaign of “maximum pressure” designed to force North Korea to roll back its weapons programs. “We imposed today the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on a country before,” Trump claimed at […]

Woods ‘very pleased’ after even-par opening round

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Tiger Woods said he was “very pleased” with an even-par 70 in the first round of the Honda Classic that left him four shots behind clubhouse leader Alex Noren of Sweden on Thursday. Woods called it the best ball-striking round of his latest comeback, which has included a tie for 23rd at Torrey Pines last month and a missed cut at Riviera in Los Angeles last week. “I’m very pleased,” […]

Five-day death toll in Syria rebel enclave tops 400: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The death toll for five days of bombardment by the Syrian regime and its allies on the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta passed the 400 mark Thursday, a monitor said. “Five days of air strikes and intense artillery fire by the regime and its Russian ally have killed 403 civilians, including 95 children,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The head of the Britain-based Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, said 46 […]

Top North Korean general to attend Olympic closing: Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A top North Korean general will be at the closing ceremony of the South’s Winter Olympics this weekend, Seoul said Thursday — an event that US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka will also attend. Kim Yong Chol, who oversees inter-Korean relations for the ruling Workers’ Party, will lead an eight-member delegation that will visit the South from Friday to Sunday, the unification ministry said in a statement. It will go […]

Hundreds give blood in Iglesia Ni Cristo’s blood donation drive in Hong Kong

  (Eagle News) — Members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) or Church of Christ held a large blood donation drive in six areas in Hong Kong where at least 465 bags of blood were collected for the Red Cross on Monday, February 19. At least 163,000 cubic centimeters (cc) of blood were donated by the INC volunteers in the blood donation activity held in Mong Kok, Causeway Bay, Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong, Yuen Long, […]

Secret Pence, N. Korea meeting planned, then scrapped

by Olivia Hampton Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Mike Pence and North Korean officials had planned to meet secretly during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, but Pyongyang scrapped the talks after the US vice-president denounced abuses from the “murderous regime,” US officials said Tuesday. Pence did not interact with the North Koreans even though he was seated in the same box as them at the opening ceremony of the Games earlier this month […]

UNICEF issues blank statement slamming ‘war on children in Syria’

AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — The UN children’s fund on Tuesday expressed “outrage” over the killings of children in Syria by issuing a blank statement, adding in a footnote that “no words will do (them) justice”. The statement came after a ferocious Syrian regime bombing campaign pounded the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Monday, killing 127 civilians, 39 of them children. “No words will do justice to the children killed, their mothers, their fathers and […]

Turkey considers chemical castration for child abusers

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey’s government said on Tuesday it would consider introducing chemical castration for child abusers after several cases of sexual assault on children sparked public outcry. “The courts will decide on the use and duration of chemical castration to limit or eliminate sexual desire,” said Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul. The government was putting the issue back on its agenda and would be revisited again “within a few days”, he added. Turkey introduced […]

Indonesia police seize over a ton of crystal meth on ship

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian authorities early Tuesday seized 1.6 tons of crystal methamphetamine hidden on a Singapore-flagged ship in their second major drug bust this month, officials said. Customs inspectors said they spotted the vessel between Indonesia’s Sumatra island and Singapore and reported it to police. A subsequent search of the ship turned up the huge haul of narcotics stuffed into some 81 rice sacks. Four Taiwanese crew were arrested including a 69-year-old man. […]

Search for Taiwan quake victims ends as toll rises to 17

  TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Rescuers Sunday ended their search of a Taiwan building partially toppled by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake as the last trapped pair were presumed dead, bringing the final death toll to 17. Thousands of emergency workers had combed through rubble at the foot of the 12-storey Yun Tsui apartment block since the quake struck the eastern city of Hualien late Tuesday. It was left leaning at around a 50-degree angle by the quake, […]

‘US presence matters’ says admiral on carrier in the South China Sea

by Ayee Macaraig Agence France Presse ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON — With a deafening roar the fighter jets catapulted off the US aircraft carrier and soared above the disputed South China Sea, as its admiral vowed that the mighty ship’s presence was proof America still had regional clout. “US presence matters,” Rear Admiral John Fuller told reporters on board the USS Carl Vinson. “I think it’s very clear that we are in the South […]