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TORRE DEL ESPANOL, Spain (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters on Thursday battled an out-of-control wildfire in Spain that authorities believe started after a heap of manure self-ignited amid a European heatwave. The blaze, which broke out Wednesday afternoon in Torre del Espanol in the northeastern region of Catalonia, has so far affected more than 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres), the regional government said, an area about 19 times the size of Central Park. The flames raging […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Two Canadian naval vessels were “buzzed” by Chinese fighter jets when they sailed through the East China Sea this week, the Canadian military said Thursday. A Canadian navy helicopter was also targeted by a laser detected from a nearby fishing boat, it said in a statement. There were no injuries nor damage, but the revelations come amid heightened tensions between the two nations over Canada’s arrest of a senior telecoms executive […]
OSAKA, Japan (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived Friday at the G20 meeting in Osaka amid fears over her health after she suffered a second public bout of uncontrollable shaking in just over a week. Merkel’s plane touched down in the western Japanese city with a German government spokesman stressing: “She is doing well. Nothing is wrong.” The German leader, who turns 65 next month, sparked renewed fears for her health on the eve […]
WASHINGTON D.C. (AFP) — The US-led coalition said Thursday it had unintentionally killed at least 1,319 civilians in strikes during its fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria since 2014. The figure is far lower than the death tolls given by groups that have monitored the conflict in the two countries. “The coalition conducted 34,514 strikes between August 2014 and the end of May 2019,” it said in a statement. During […]
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday warned that US President Donald Trump was mistaken in thinking a war between their countries would not last long. “‘Short war’ with Iran is an illusion,” Zarif tweeted a day after Trump said he does not want a war with Iran but warned that if fighting did break out, it “wouldn’t last very long”. The foreign minister also tweeted: “Whoever begins war will not […]
KOKOPO, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — An erupting volcano in Papua New Guinea that has blanketed a town in ash has forced around 5,000 people from their homes, officials said Thursday. Mount Ulawun — one of the world’s most hazardous volcanoes — began spewing lava and smoke high into the air on Wednesday. Chris Lagisa, a community elder, said people had gathered at a church hall to flee on lorries, trucks and 4x4s, clutching sacks […]
OSAKA, Japan (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Osaka on the eve of a crunch G20 summit likely to be dominated by a long-running trade fight with the United States. Xi is expected to hold trade talks with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the two-day meeting starting Friday but analysts see a temporary tariff truce as a more likely outcome than a game-changing breakthrough. © Agence France-Presse
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged a total of 12 letters since the beginning of last year, South Korea’s Unification Minster said, with the North Korean leader the more assiduous suitor in their nuclear bromance, penning eight. “Since 2018, chairman Kim has written eight letters to President Trump, and President Trump has written four letters to chairman Kim,” Kim Yeon-chul, the South’s […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A shocking photograph of a Salvadoran man and his baby daughter drowned in the Rio Grande fueled a surge of emotion around the world Wednesday — as US Democrats furiously denounced Donald Trump’s immigration policies. “Trump is responsible for these deaths,” said Beto O’Rourke, one of several Democratic White House hopefuls who took to Twitter to lash out at the president. Former vice president Joe Biden, who is also seeking […]
by Ryland JAMES Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Authorities raised alerts Wednesday as Europe’s record-breaking June heatwave threatened to intensify with temperatures heading into the 40s Celsius. The choking heat has prompted traffic restrictions, sparked forest fires and fanned debate over public nudity as sweltering Germans stripped off. But French winemakers said the hot weather was more than welcome as it could produce a superior vintage. Meteorologists blamed a blast of hot […]
by Amir HAVASI TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said Tuesday it will further free itself from the 2015 nuclear deal in defiance of new American sanctions as US President Donald Trump warned the Islamic Republic of “overwhelming” retaliation for any attacks. Tensions between Iran and the US have spiraled since last year when Trump withdrew the United States from the deal under which Tehran was to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from […]
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers battled a wind-fuelled forest fire in Spain on Wednesday amid a Europe-wide heatwave that has sent temperatures soaring to record highs in several countries. Fifteen water-dropping aircraft were helping firefighters to put out the blaze, which broke out at around 2:30 pm (1230 GMT) in the municipality of Torre del Espanol in Tarragona province in the northeastern region of Catalonia, local firefighters said. The blaze, which […]
