VIENNA, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – Austrian authorities were on Saturday investigating the killings of five women in the capital Vienna within a single day, including three found brutally stabbed to death in a brothel. The bodies of three young women were found with fatal knife wounds in a brothel in Vienna’s underprivileged Brigittenau district on Friday night after a witness alerted police. A 27-year-old man still carrying a knife that was believed to be […]
International
Dior postpones Hong Kong fashion show: govt
HONG KONG, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – Dior has postponed a fashion show set to be held in Hong Kong next month, a city official confirmed Saturday, dealing a blow to the financial hub’s ambitions to boost its economy through major events. Hong Kong is courting top international celebrities and brands in the hope of rebooting its reputation, which had been battered by years of social unrest and strict pandemic curbs. The Dior fashion show […]
Fears over Russia’s ‘ghost fleet’ bypassing oil sanctions
By Emeline BURCKEL LONDON, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – Two years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, prompting multiple rounds of Western sanctions, Moscow increasingly relies on a shadow fleet of ships to circumvent curbs on its oil exports. Experts say the so-called ghost fleet of tankers with opaque ownership or without proper insurance has allowed the Kremlin to keep exporting despite a Western-imposed embargo and oil price cap on its global sales. […]
Valencia falls silent to recall housing block inferno victims
VALENCIA, Spain, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – Hundreds of people observed five minutes of silence in the Mediterranean port city of Valencia on Saturday to honour the 10 victims of a huge fire that ripped through a residential high-rise two days earlier. As the clock struck midday, the large crowd gathered outside city hall fell silent, some wearing dark glasses to mask red eyes, while others wiped away tears as they recalled the victims of […]
Eiffel Tower to reopen Sunday as strike ends
PARIS, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – France’s Eiffel Tower that had been closed for five days by a strike will reopen Sunday after the monument’s management announced a deal had been struck with unions. The stoppage since Monday at one of the world’s best-known tourist sites was the second within two months in protest at what unions say was insufficient investment. The tower’s operator SETE said it had reached agreement with the unions on Saturday […]
At least 15 killed in fire in east China’s Nanjing
BEIJING, Feb 24, 2024 (AFP) – At least 15 people have been killed and 44 injured in a fire at a residential building in eastern China’s Nanjing, local authorities said Saturday. The fire broke out early Friday morning, officials said at a press conference, with a preliminary investigation suggesting the blaze started on the building’s first floor, where electric bikes had been placed. The building is located in the Yuhuatai district of Nanjing, a city […]
Digital Markets Act: Tech titans yield to new EU rules before March deadline
BRUSSELS, Belgium, Feb 23, 2024 (AFP) – 2024 will be a year of change for the world’s biggest tech companies as they bow to EU rules that come into force next month, shaking up how Europeans use vastly popular platforms from Google to Instagram. The European Union long ago set its sights on big tech, aiming to rein in globally dominant companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft. The landmark law known as the Digital Markets […]
West Bank drone strike killed militant planning attack: Israel army
JERUSALEM, Feb 23, 2024 (AFP) – Israel’s army said Friday a Palestinian militant on his way to carry out a shooting attack was killed in a drone strike in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin a day earlier. Yasser Hanun from the Islamic Jihad group had previously been detained for his involvement in the “terrorist organisation’s military activities,” the army said in a statement. The resident of Jenin refugee camp “was eliminated while en […]
Underfunded & under-maintained: Eiffel tower workers strike for repairs, fair treatment
France’s iconic Eiffel Tower was closed for a fourth day on Thursday as employees extended a strike over the monument’s management, unions said. The stoppage at one of the world’s best-known tourist sites is the second within two months in protest of what unions say is insufficient investment. The tower’s operator, SETE, has advised ticket holders to check its website before showing up, or to postpone their visit. E-ticket holders were asked to check their […]
Australia battles ‘volatile’ bushfire
Australian firefighters were working to contain a “volatile” bushfire in the southern state of Victoria on Friday, urging thousands of people to evacuate rural areas threatened by the blaze. The out-of-control blaze, about two hours’ drive northwest of state capital Melbourne, has already burned through about 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres) of forest and farmland. Almost 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze. “They will be supported by water-bombing aircraft, including the large […]
Taliban authorities execute two convicted murderers in football stadium
GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Feb 22, 2024 (AFP) – Taliban authorities publicly executed two men convicted of murder in a football stadium in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. Both men were executed by multiple gunshots to the back in Ghazni city after Supreme Court official Atiqullah Darwish read aloud a death warrant signed by Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. “These two people were convicted of the crime of murder,” Darwish […]
Policeman charged with murder of Australian TV presenter, boyfriend
SYDNEY, Feb 23, 2024 (AFP) – Australian police on Friday charged one of their own officers with the double murder of a TV presenter and his flight attendant boyfriend, whose bodies have yet to be found. Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said a 28-year-old serving police constable was charged with two counts of murder, after a high-profile three-day search across Sydney. Earlier this week, the chance discovery of bloodied clothes in a suburban rubbish bin […]
