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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — A massive fire at the Auckland venue being built to host the 2021 APEC forum raged for a second day on Wednesday, as New Zealand officials insisted the event would go ahead. The blaze broke out at the SkyCity convention centre construction site on Tuesday afternoon and was still blanketing the city with smoke a day later, despite the efforts of more than 100 firefighters. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — The death toll from week-long anti-government protests that erupted in Baghdad and southern Iraq at the start of October totaled 157, an official inquiry announced Tuesday, ahead of further demonstrations. It also said commanders from across the security forces had been dismissed in the wake of the violence, including from the army, police, anti-terror, anti-riot, anti-crime, intelligence, and national security units. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, in a report […]
by Christian SPILLMANN / Dave CLARK BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, on Tuesday recommended that EU leaders postpone Britain’s departure from the bloc while its prime minister seeks approval of their divorce deal. EU ambassadors are to meet in Brussels on Wednesday after the British House of Commons rejected Boris Johnson’s bid to set a tight three-day schedule to approve a Brexit bill this week. This effectively destroyed […]
WUZHEN, China (AFP) — China’s “Great Firewall” system of online censorship blocks domestic access to nearly a quarter of the foreign news organisations accredited to report in the country, a press watchdog said Tuesday. Beijing bars its citizens from accessing the publicly available websites of 23 percent of 215 international news organisations that have journalists based in China, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) said in a statement. Thirty-one percent of news organisations […]
by Layal Abou Rahal and Joe Dyke Agence France Presse BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Lebanon’s teetering government approved an economic rescue plan Monday but the last-ditch move was met with deep distrust from a swelling protest movement seeking the removal of the entire political class. A proposed tax on mobile messaging applications last week sparked a spontaneous, cross-sectarian mobilization — at first dubbed a “WhatsApp revolution” — that has brought Lebanon to a standstill […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States was awarded ownership of a North Korean cargo ship that was seized for violating international sanctions, the US Justice Department said. The Wise Honest — the first North Korean vessel to be seized by the US for sanctions violation — was caught carrying a $3 million shipment of coal in Indonesian waters last year and later handed over to the US. The latest ruling by the Southern […]
by Tupad POINTU LA PAZ, Bolivia (AFP) — Violence broke out in several Bolivian cities Monday after the main opposition candidate rejected presidential election results that seemed set to give victory to long-time incumbent Evo Morales, as international monitors voiced “deep concern.” Rival supporters clashed in the capital La Paz, while in the southern city of Sucre an angry mob set a local electoral authority’s headquarters on fire, TV images showed. Carlos Mesa, who came […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) –Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Tuesday formally proclaimed his enthronement in front of royals and leaders from around the world, completing his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Dressed in a ceremonial outfit dominated by a draped outer robe in copper, Naruhito announced: “I hereby declare my enthronement at home and abroad.” The ceremony was conducted largely in silence, with only drums and gongs sounding. Some 2,000 guests, including foreign dignitaries and royalty, stood […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — A huge fire at a construction site sent clouds of acrid black smoke billowing over Auckland on Tuesday, forcing large parts of the downtown area to be cordoned off as firefighters battled the blaze. The fire broke out on the roof of the SkyCity convention center site shortly after 1:10pm (0010 GMT) and quickly spread, Fire and Emergency NZ said. Office workers were warned to stay inside and turn off […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set to hold onto power in a nail-biter of a general election Monday, according to television projections. Broadcasters TVA, CTV and CBC declared the Liberals would form a minority government as the party was elected or leading in 145 of the 338 electoral districts, versus 107 for Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives, according to preliminary results. Trudeau dominated Canadian politics over the four years of […]
by Barnaby CHESTERMAN SANTIAGO, Chile (AFP) — Chile ordered an overnight curfew for the third day in a row as violent protests and looting that left 11 people dead over the weekend raged on into the working week. Army general Javier Iturriaga announced the curfew would last from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am as protests originally against a hike in metro fares turned into anger at President Sebastian Pinera and the military. Iturriaga insisted the […]
by Mike Smith and Delphine Matthieussent JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed Israel’s president Monday he could not form a new government following deadlocked September elections, making way for his opponent Benny Gantz to try. The decision was an important defeat for Netanyahu as he seeks to continue his tenure as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, but it does not mean the end of those efforts since he still has various cards to […]
