International

Ukraine issues air alert after warning of incoming Russian bombers

KYIV, Ukraine, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine was under a nationwide air alert for over two hours on Thursday after the military warned that a group of bombers had taken off from a base in Russia. The Ukrainian air force reported that several Tu-95MS strategic bombers had left the Olenya airfield in Russia’s far north, prompting the alert to be issued. But it was lifted hours later, with the air force saying in a […]

“Serious” national security alert: Russia building nuclear weapon in space, says US

WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The United States is facing a new and “serious” national security threat, top officials warned Wednesday, with two media outlets reporting it involves a Russian attempt to build a space-based nuclear capability. ABC News and The New York Times quoted unidentified officials saying that Russia was developing a nuclear, space-based anti-satellite weapon. According to officials quoted in the Times, Russia has not yet deployed such a capability. In public, […]

China condemns Taiwan after two nationals killed in boat crash

BEIJING, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – China condemned Taiwanese authorities on Wednesday after two Chinese nationals died in a boat accident while pursued by Taiwan’s coast guard. The Chinese boat was carrying four people when it capsized near the Kinmen Islands, throwing all onboard into the water, Chinese and Taiwanese authorities said. “The malignant incident severely harmed the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan […]

One dead, children among 21 injured in Super Bowl parade shooting

  By Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS KANSAS CITY, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – One person was killed and multiple children were among 21 injured after a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory rally on Wednesday triggered panic among huge crowds of fans. Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, which takes patients up to the age of 17, said it was treating 12 people — 11 of them children, nine for gunshot wounds — […]

State-backed hackers for Russia, China, Iran use ChatGPT

Hackers linked to the governments in Russia, North Korea and Iran have turned to ChatGPT to explore new ways to carry out online attacks, OpenAI and Microsoft said Wednesday. OpenAI and Microsoft said accounts linked to hackers have been shut down as the companies increase efforts to thwart malicious use of the popular AI chatbots by state actors. Microsoft is a major financial backer of OpenAI and uses its AI technology, known as large language […]

Musk’s X feeds monetization of wartime misinformation

By Daniel Funke and Anuj Chopra WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – Influencers on X are monetizing misinformation about conflicts in the Middle East, leveraging the platform’s contentious policies that researchers say prioritize engagement over accuracy. Since Elon Musk’s turbulent 2022 acquisition of X, formerly Twitter, the site has restored thousands of once-banned accounts and introduced a paid verification system that critics say has boosted conspiracy theorists. X also rolled out an ad revenue-sharing program […]

Ex-fiance of S. Korean Olympic fencing star jailed 12 years for fraud

SEOUL, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The former fiance of South Korean Olympic fencing medallist Nam Hyun-hee was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud Wednesday over a scandal that reverberated across the country last year. The former fiance, Jeon Cheong-jo, was arrested last year on charges of stealing over 3 billion won ($2.2 million) from 27 people between April 2022 and last October, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. Jeon on Wednesday […]

Philippines to file charges against sunken oil tanker owners

MANILA, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The Philippine government said Wednesday it will file criminal charges against the owners of an oil tanker that sank off a central island nearly a year ago, causing severe marine pollution. More than half of the vessel’s 800,000-litre (211,000-gallon) oil cargo spilled into the sea over hundreds of kilometres off Mindoro island, famed for having some of the world’s most diverse marine life. A justice department statement said it […]

Two Seoul police officers convicted over deadly Halloween crush

SEOUL, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – A South Korean court sentenced two former senior police officers Wednesday for destroying evidence linked to Seoul’s deadly 2022 Halloween crush — the first police officials to be sentenced over the disaster. Tens of thousands of people — mostly in their 20s and 30s — had been out on October 29, 2022, to enjoy the first post-pandemic holiday celebrations in the popular Itaewon nightlife district. But the night turned […]

S.Africa urges ICJ to pressure Israel to halt Rafah offensive

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 13, 2024 (AFP) – South Africa urged the UN’s top court Tuesday to place more legal pressure on Israel to halt a threatened offensive against the densely crowded Gaza city of Rafah. Pretoria has already made a complaint against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, alleging that its assault on Gaza amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention. The court has yet to rule on the underlying […]

Abbas urges Hamas to agree Gaza deal ‘quickly’: Palestinian news agency

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas pressed the militant group Hamas on Wednesday to agree a Gaza deal quickly to avoid “dire consequences”, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. “We call on the Hamas movement to quickly complete a prisoner deal, to spare our Palestinian people from the calamity of another catastrophic event with dire consequences, no less dangerous than the Nakba of 1948,” Abbas said. The president […]

Israel military says ‘begins series’ of Lebanon air strikes

JERUSALEM, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The Israeli military said Wednesday its fighter jets “began a series of strikes in Lebanon”, raising fears of a war between the two countries after months of cross-border fire. The military gave no further details of the air strikes, while Lebanese media reported three villages were hit. The strikes came hours after fire from Lebanon wounded multiple people in northern Israel, according to medics. Seven people were wounded, five […]