International

Iran denies being hit by US cyber attack

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said Monday that no cyber attack against the Islamic republic has ever succeeded, after American media reported the US launched one last week amid a standoff between the two countries. “The media are asking about the veracity of the alleged cyber attack against Iran. No successful attack has been carried out by them, although they are making a lot of effort,” telecommunications minister Mohammad Javad Azarari Jahromi said on Twitter […]

Bridge collapse sends Bangladesh train plunging

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — A train plunged into a canal when the bridge it was travelling across gave way, killing four people and injuring 100 more in Bangladesh on Monday. Officials said part of the bridge collapsed as the express train went over, sending five cars crashing to the ground, with one of them landing in the water. Scores of people were trapped in the accident at Kalaura, 300 kilometres (185 miles) from Dhaka. Local […]

‘No more survivors’ in Cambodia building collapse as toll hits 24

by Suy SE SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia (AFP) — The retrieval of bodies from a building collapse in Cambodia continued Monday, as the death toll rose to 24 with no further survivors expected to be found under the debris of the seven-storey Chinese-owned construction site. Workers clawed back the rubble overnight as a grim-faced Cambodian premier Hun Sen visited the scene of the collapse in Sihanoukville, a beach town undergoing a Chinese investment bonanza. The night was […]

North Korean leader receives ‘excellent’ letter from Trump: KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a personal letter of “excellent content” from US President Donald Trump, the country’s state media said Sunday, amid a nuclear deadlock between Pyongyang and Washington. Talks have been stalled since the collapse of a second summit between the two leaders in February after they failed to agree on what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief. The […]

Pompeo heads to Saudi Arabia, UAE for Iran crisis talks

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday he will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for talks on the crisis sparked by Iran’s downing an American drone. “We’ll be talking with them about how to make sure that we are all strategically aligned and how we can build out a global coalition” on Iran, he said. Iran shot down a US Global Hawk drone on Thursday, saying […]

Mild earthquake hits near Rome: institute

ROME, Italy (AFP) — A 3.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Rome on Sunday evening, the Italian geophysics institute said, with local media reporting it caused no damage. The epicenter of the quake was near Colonna, a small city around 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Rome. There was no noticeable damage or injuries from the tremor, local media said citing the civil protection service and witnesses. Many residents of Colonna and surrounding areas did leave their […]

Erdogan’s party loses re-run of Istanbul mayor election

by Fulya OZERKAN ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suffered a bruising defeat on Sunday as the opposition candidate in Istanbul’s controversial mayoral election re-run romped to victory. Ekrem Imamoglu had won the first mayoral vote in March by a slim margin of 13,000 votes over Erdogan’s chosen candidate, Binali Yildirim, who contested the results and a new election was ordered. After being stripped of that victory over disputed claims of fraud, […]

Rescuers scour rubble as Cambodia building collapse toll rises to 18

  SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia (AFP) — Victims of the Cambodia building collapse were buried alive as they slept, a survivor told AFP on Sunday, as the death toll at the Chinese-owned site rose to 18 and increasingly desperate rescuers picked through the compacted rubble for any further signs of life. There are fears many more workers may be buried as rescuers had scoured barely half of the debris of twisted metal, glass and large concrete slabs […]

Trump postpones nationwide immigration enforcement sweep

  By COLLEEN LONG and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Saturday delayed a nationwide immigration sweep to deport people living the United States illegally, including families, saying he would give lawmakers two weeks to work out solutions for the southern border. The move came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump on Friday asking him to call off the raids. But three administration officials said scrapping the operation was […]

North Korean leader receives ‘excellent’ letter from Trump, says North Korea’s state media

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received a personal letter of “excellent content” from US President Donald Trump, the country’s state media said Sunday, amid a nuclear deadlock between Pyongyang and Washington. Talks have been stalled since the collapse of a second summit between the two leaders in February after they failed to agree on what the North would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief. […]

Hong Kong protesters end blockade of police headquarters

By RAF WOBER Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Protesters in Hong Kong ended their overnight siege of police headquarters peacefully Saturday, disappointed that their demands for the territory’s leader to formally withdraw a contentious extradition bill and police to apologize for heavy handed tactics have gone unmet. By daybreak, police had cleared the streets of barriers set up by protesters to snarl traffic in the Asian financial center, and only a few groups in […]

Skydiving plane crashes in Hawaii, killing all 11 aboard

By AUDREY McAVOY and ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — A skydiving plane crashed and burst into flames just after takeoff from a small seaside airfield on the island of Oahu, killing 11 people, officials said Saturday. Authorities initially reported that nine people died in the crash Friday evening and that three of them were customers of a skydiving company and six were employees. But the Hawaii Department of Transportation tweeted Saturday that officials […]