International

Trump’s approval hits highest rating ever in Gallup poll

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump is enjoying the strongest polling of his presidency following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and positive economic news, according to public opinion poll agency Gallup. Trump’s job approval rating crept up one point to 46 percent for the two-week period ending April 30, a substantial rise from the 39 percent approval he recorded in early March. “In addition to the initial interpretation […]

Prince Harry overjoyed as Meghan gives birth to a boy

by Joe JACKSON Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has given birth to a boy, her “over the moon” husband Prince Harry revealed to the world on Monday in a low-key announcement intended to protect their privacy. Prince Harry said that both mother and baby were “doing incredibly well” as he gave a short statement to British television news outlets, without either in sight, in front of Windsor […]

7.2 quake hits Papua New Guinea, no early damage reports

  PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Papua New Guinea on Tuesday at a depth of 127 kilometers (80 miles), officials said, although there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck 33 kilometers (21 miles) from the town of Bulolo at 2119 GMT according to the US Geological Survey, and was felt in the capital Port Moresby about 250 kilometres away. Because of the depth of the […]

The Pakistani popcorn seller who built his own plane

by Kaneez FATIMA TABUR, Pakistan (AFP) — The engine is from a roadcutter, the wings are burlap, the wheels are borrowed from a rickshaw: a popcorn seller has caught the attention of the Pakistan Air Force by building his own plane. The tale of Muhammad Fayyaz has captured the hearts of many in a nation where millions, just like him, have limited access to education and are fighting for opportunities. “I was literally in the […]

Panama’s Cortizo declares victory in presidential vote

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) — Former Panamanian minister Laurentino Cortizo declared victory in presidential polls on Sunday that saw a large number of voters turn out amid concerns over corruption scandals and the country’s image as a money-launderer’s paradise. But Panama’s Electoral Tribunal has yet to announce an official result due to the narrow difference in tallies between contenders for the country’s top office. “I feel very happy. I won. We won. What we have […]

Cyclone Fani death toll rises to 42 in India, Bangladesh

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — The death toll from a cyclone that battered India and Bangladesh rose to 42 on Sunday as emergency teams raced to fix water supplies and roads devastated by the storm. Twenty-nine of the dead were in eastern India’s Odisha state and 13 in Bangladesh, officials in the two countries said — a fraction of the casualty numbers seen in past cyclones. Cyclone Fani barrelled into Odisha on Friday, packing winds […]

N. Korea tested rocket launchers and ‘tactical guided weapons’

by Claire Lee with Olivia Hampton in Washington SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean state media said Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a rocket and tactical guided weapons test, after the drill Saturday raised concerns Pyongyang was escalating provocations with US nuclear negotiations deadlocked. But the United States seemed to seek a conciliatory tone in response, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that Washington still saw “a path forward” […]

41 feared dead in Russian plane blaze disaster: investigators

by Thibaut MARCHAND MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Forty-one people including at least two children are believed to have died when a Russian passenger plane made an emergency landing and was engulfed in flames at Moscow’s busiest airport Sunday, investigators said. Dramatic footage shared on social media showed Aeroflot’s Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft, land at Sheremetyevo international airport, flames and black smoke pouring from its fuselage. Passengers could be seen leaping onto an inflatable slide at […]

Cattle rancher leads the way as Panama elects new president

PANAMA CITY, Panama AFP) – Social-democrat Laurentino Cortizo is the favorite to win as 2.7 million Panamanians take to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president following a campaign dominated by talk of corruption. Cortizo, a 66-year-old businessman and cattle rancher, was 10 points clear of his closest challenger, former foreign minister Romulo Roux of the Democratic Change party, with polls showing independent Ricardo Lombana a close third. Sunday’s winner will succeed Juan Carlos […]

Deadly escalation sees fresh rocket fire from Gaza, Israeli retaliation

by Adel Zaanoun Agence France-Presse GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Gaza militants fired fresh rocket barrages at Israel early Sunday in a deadly escalation that has seen Israel respond with waves of strikes as a fragile truce again faltered and a further escalation was feared. Gazan authorities reported four Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in the escalation that began Saturday, but Israel disputed their account of the deaths of a pregnant mother and her baby. […]

More than 1,000 dead in D.R. Congo Ebola epidemic

More than 1,000 people have now died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities said, as aid workers warned that the highly contagious virus combined with insecurity in the restive region was creating a “deeply worrying situation”. The current outbreak is the second deadliest on record, after an epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2014-2016. Efforts to roll back the outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever have been hampered by […]

At least nine dead as cyclone barrels into Bangladesh

Cyclone Fani, one of the biggest to hit India in years, barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday after leaving a trail of deadly destruction in India. Thanks to mass evacuations well ahead of time though, a major human disaster of the kind seen in previous cyclones looked to have been averted. Bangladeshi police said nine people perished even before the eye of the storm crossed the border on Saturday morning. Eight others died in India, press […]