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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States is prepared to ratchet up economic pressure on Turkey if it does not agree to cease its offensive in northern Syria, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday. Turkey has so far rebuffed international pressure to hold its fire against Kurdish forces in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation. Facing stinging criticism at home, US President Donald Trump this week slapped sanctions on top Turkish officials and imposed […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A leading face of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement was rushed to hospital covered in blood late Wednesday after being attacked by unidentified thugs with hammers, his protest group said. The Civil Human Rights Front said leader Jimmy Sham was assaulted by four to five people wielding hammers in the district of Mongkok in what they described as an act of “political terror”. “He received a bloody head wound and was […]
by Gregory Walton DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar announced plans Wednesday to scrap key aspects of its controversial “kafala” labor rules, including the requirement for some workers to obtain employers’ permission to change jobs and exit permits to leave the country. Qatar has made a series of reforms to its employment regulations since being selected to host the 2022 World Cup, which set motion a vast construction program employing foreign workers. Rights groups have long […]
by Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi with Nazeer al-Khatib in Ras al-Ain CEYLAPINAR, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey rebuffed international pressure to curb its deadly offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump dispatched his deputy Mike Pence to Ankara to demand a ceasefire. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey’s operation — which has been facilitated by the withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria — would continue. On another front, Kurdish […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government said Wednesday it would set aside millions of dollars to help areas devastated by Typhoon Hagibis, which killed more than 70 people across the country. Hagibis slammed into Japan on Saturday, unleashing fierce winds and unprecedented rain that triggered landslides and caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks. By midday Wednesday, the government put the toll at 74, with more a dozen people still missing. Prime Minister […]
by Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) –Rescuers in Japan worked into a third day on Tuesday in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful typhoon that killed nearly 70 people and caused widespread destruction. Hagibis slammed into Japan on Saturday night, unleashing fierce winds and “unprecedented” rain that triggered landslides and caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks. By Tuesday morning, national broadcaster NHK put the toll at nearly 70, with more […]
by Santiago PIEDRA SILVA QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Ecuador began counting the cost Monday of 12 days of indigenous fury against fuel hikes that left seven protesters dead and severely dented President Lenin Moreno’s austerity program. Moreno and indigenous leaders reached an agreement Sunday after the president pledged to withdraw subsidy cuts, known as Decree 883, that had more than doubled fuel prices. The cuts were part of an austerity package to obtain a $4.2 […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that US troops withdrawing from Syria would remain in the region to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. “United States troops coming out of Syria will now redeploy and remain in the region to monitor the situation and prevent a repeat of 2014, when the neglected threat of ISIS raged across Syria and Iraq,” Trump said in a statement, using an acronym for […]
by Shingo ITO / Sara HUSSEIN Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tens of thousands of rescuers worked into the night Monday to find survivors of a powerful typhoon in Japan that killed at least 56 people, as fresh rain threatened to hamper their efforts. Typhoon Hagibis crashed into the country on Saturday night, unleashing high winds and torrential rain across 36 of the country’s 47 prefectures, triggering landslides and catastrophic flooding. The […]
LIMA, Peru (AFP) — At least six people died and 40 were injured after a hailstorm caused a roof to collapse on a costume party in central Peru, authorities said. Around 1,000 people were in the building at the time of the accident on Sunday, according to local media. Some are still trapped in the rubble and five of the injured are in a serious condition, police said. The incident occurred during a local […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand will establish a team of investigators dedicated solely to tackling online extremism, as it moves to address failures exposed by the Christchurch mosques massacre, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. Ardern has led global efforts to force technology firms to clamp down on extremist material since a lone gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers in March, streaming part of the atrocity on Facebook. But she said the attack, […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — President Xi Jinping has warned that any attempts to split China would result in “bodies smashed and bones ground to powder”, amid four months of anti-Beijing unrest in Hong Kong. Xi issued the dire message during a weekend visit to Nepal, according to a foreign ministry statement released on Sunday. “Anyone who attempts to split any region from China will perish, with their bodies smashed and bones ground to powder,” Xi […]
