International

Three held over UK truck deaths freed on police bail

LONDON, United States (AFP) — Three suspects arrested in Britain over the deaths of 39 people found in a refrigerated truck has been released on bail, police said Sunday. They are a man and woman, both 38, from Warrington in northwest England, and a 46-year-old Northern Irish man who had been held at London’s Stansted Airport. They were arrested two days after the bodies of eight women and 31 men were discovered Wednesday in a […]

Iraq students join protests as pressure on government swells

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi students joined anti-government protests in Baghdad on Sunday, ramping up the street pressure on Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi who also faced a sit-in and the first resignations from parliament. The capital and country’s south have been rocked by a second wave of demonstrations since Thursday, with protesters digging in despite tear gas, curfews, and violence that has left more than 70 dead. About a dozen schools and universities decided […]

Chile president to lift state of emergency at midnight: official

SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Embattled Chilean President Sebastian Pinera announced on Sunday that a state of emergency that has lasted more than a week amid mass protests would be lifted at midnight. The decision, just two days after more than a million people took to the country’s streets demanding economic and political change, comes after the equally unpopular week-long nighttime curfews ended on Saturday. Authorities imposed both the state of emergency and curfews last weekend […]

IS spokesman killed in fresh north Syria raid: SDF official

AIN AL-BAYDAH, Syria (AFP) — The Islamic State group’s spokesman was killed Sunday in northern Syria, a top Kurdish official said, hours after the jihadists’ leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was announced dead. The official with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces — who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak on the issue — said IS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir had been killed after SDF chief Mazloum Abdi said he had […]

State of emergency as California fires spread

by Josh Edelson with Jocelyne Zablit in Los Angeles HEALDSBURG, United States (AFP) — California’s governor declared a state-wide emergency on Sunday as a huge wind-fueled blaze forced evacuations and massive power blackouts, threatening tourist towns in the state’s famed Sonoma wine region. The so-called Kincade Fire, north of San Francisco, spread to 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) overnight, with only 10 percent containment by early afternoon Sunday, state fire authorities said. The blaze, the largest […]

Powerful winds fan flames as ‘historic’ California blaze spreads

  by Philip Pacheco Agence France Presse HEALDSBURG, United States (AFP) — Powerful winds were fanning wildfires in northern California in “potentially historic fire” conditions, authorities said Sunday, as tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate and sweeping power cuts began in the US state. Gusts of 80 miles per hour (130 kph) were fueling the Kincade blaze — which threatens tens of thousands of structures — causing it to burn with greater […]

IS head Baghdadi believed dead after US strike in Syria: reports

  by Omar Haj Kadour with Paul Handley in Washington Agence France Presse NEAR BARISHA, Syria (AFP) — Jihadist supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the world’s most wanted man, was believed Sunday to have been killed in a US special operation in northwest Syria. The elusive chief of the Islamic State group was thought to be dead after a US military raid in the Idlib region, US media reported early Sunday. The White House announced President […]

Vatican assembly set to vote on whether to recommend allowing married men to join priesthood

by Catherine MARCIANO Agence France Presse VATICAN CITY (AFP) — Catholic bishops gathered at a special Vatican assembly will vote Saturday on whether to recommend to Catholic Church’s Pope Francis to open the priesthood to married men or create female deacons, issues that are taboo for traditionalists. The ballot comes at the close of a three-week “synod” on the Pan-Amazonian region which highlighted the challenges facing the region, from the destruction of the rainforest to […]

Rescuers hunt for missing as landslides, floods kill 10 in Japan

    TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Rescuers worked by hand to clear debris from a landslide triggered by heavy rains in central Japan on Saturday, as the toll from the storms rose to 10 dead with a further three people reportedly missing. Aerial footage showed emergency workers removing wreckage from two houses that were swept away in Chiba, southeast of Tokyo, just two weeks after a deadly typhoon barrelled through the area. Nine people were […]

Over a million protesters demand Chile president’s resignation

  by Giovanna FLEITAS / Paula Bustamante Agence France Presse SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — More than one million people took to the streets in Chile Friday for the largest protests in a week of deadly demonstrations demanding economic reforms and the resignation of President Sebastian Pinera. The leader told the thronging masses that he had “heard the message” in a post on Twitter, characterizing the protests in a positive light and as a means towards […]

Firefighters battle fierce wildfires across California

  by Jocelyne ZABLIT Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Firefighters on Friday battled several wildfires raging across California that destroyed homes and forced evacuations, as more than 18 million people were under a red flag warning in the southern part of the state. Tens of thousands of residents near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, fled their homes as the so-called Tick Fire scorched 4,300 acres (1,740 hectares) and was only […]

Botswana’s President Masisi wins hotly contested election

  GABORONE, Botswana (AFP) — Incumbent president Mokgweetsi Masisi on Friday won a five-year term in Botswana’s elections which saw his ruling party secure more than 51 percent of parliamentary votes, the chief justice said. “Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is elected President of the Republic of Botswana,” chief justice Terrence Rannowane announced. The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which has ruled since independence from Britain in 1966, was declared the winner after attaining the minimum […]