International

India races to evacuate coast before monster storm hits

by Samarenda Raut BHUBANESWAR, India (AFP) — Indian and Bangladesh authorities raced Friday to complete the evacuation of more than one million people out of the path of an extreme cyclone heading towards the Bay of Bengal coast with winds of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour. Major airports were closed in India’s eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal and the railway network virtually closed down ahead of the arrival of Extremely […]

Maduro exhorts Venezuela military to fight ‘any coup plotter’

by Alexander MARTINEZ CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday called on the armed forces to oppose “any coup plotter” after a military uprising in support of opposition leader Juan Guaido fizzled out, and subsequent street clashes left four protesters dead. On Tuesday, Guaido — who has been recognized by more than 50 countries as the crisis-wracked country’s interim president — urged the armed forces to rise up against the embattled leader. […]

US attorney general no-show at House hearing, Democrats fume

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — America’s top law enforcement officers refused to appear before Congress Thursday to explain his handling of the special counsel’s report on Russian interference, infuriating Democrats who quickly threatened to censure him for contempt. Attorney General Bill Barr had been grilled a day earlier in the Republican-led Senate, where Democrats accused him of whitewashing the report to protect President Donald Trump. But he was a no-show at a hearing before the […]

Film on Catholic priests using nuns as ‘sex slaves’ pulled

PARIS, France (AFP) — A hit documentary about how some Catholic priests allegedly abused nuns in different parts of the world has been pulled from the Franco-German television channel Arte after a priest complained to a German court. The big-budget media investigation, “Sex Slaves in the Catholic Church”, was broadcast in March and has been sold widely internationally since. Its broadcast came weeks after Pope Francis admitted that some rogue priests had used nuns as […]

780,000 evacuated in India ahead of major cyclone

BHUBANESWAR, India (AFP) — Nearly 800,000 people in India’s eastern coastal districts have been evacuated ahead of the expected arrival of a major cyclone packing winds of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour, officials said Thursday. The Indian weather service said Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani is expected to make landfall on Friday afternoon near the Hindu holy town of Puri. A state relief department official told AFP that 780,000 people were moved […]

One dead, 46 hurt in Venezuela May Day clashes

by Alexander MARTINEZ / Esteban ROJAS CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — May Day clashes between opposition supporters and Venezuela’s armed forces in Caracas left a woman dead and 46 people injured on Wednesday, with opposition leader Juan Guaido attempting to rally demonstrators against President Nicolas Maduro. Jurubith Rausseo, 27, died at a clinic after being hit by a “bullet in the head during (a) demonstration,” the non-governmental Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict said on Twitter, condemning […]

Abe ready to meet N. Korea’s Kim ‘unconditionally’: media

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “unconditionally” in a bid to restore diplomatic ties between the two historic foes, a daily said Thursday. Abe, seen as a foreign policy hawk, has recently softened his rhetoric towards Pyongyang, calling for a summit with Kim to resolve an emotional row over past kidnappings of Japanese nationals by Pyongyang agents. In an interview with the […]

India braces for cyclone, puts navy on alert

BHUBANESWAR, India (AFP) — India deployed emergency personnel Wednesday and ordered the navy on standby as it braced for an extremely severe cyclonic storm barrelling towards the eastern coast. Tropical Cyclone Fani, located in the Bay of Bengal and packing wind speeds up to 205 kilometres (127 miles) per hour, is expected to make landfall at Odisha state Friday. Authorities have also ordered the evacuation of thousands of people from coastal districts likely to bear […]

Cuba May Day parade defies Trump over Maduro support

by Carlos BATISTA / Moises AVILA HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — The scent of the Cold War hung over Cuba’s May Day parade where marchers bellowed defiance against US President Donald Trump for his threats to punish the Communist-run island’s support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by extending the six-decade US embargo. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans turned out in the capital Havana, many of them gathering on Revolution Square from before dawn under the still-illuminated […]

Clashes break out at Venezuela May Day protest

by Alexander MARTINEZ / Esteban ROJAS CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Clashes broke out between opposition supporters and Venezuela’s armed forces in the capital Caracas on Wednesday during May Day protests with opposition leader Juan Guaido attempting to rally demonstrators against President Nicolas Maduro. National Guard troops fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters attempting to block a highway close to the airbase in eastern Caracas where Guaido had tried on Tuesday to spark a military uprising […]

UK’s May sacks defence minister Williamson over Huawei leak

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday sacked Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson following a probe into the leak of news that Britain had conditionally allowed China’s Huawei to develop its 5G network. “The Prime Minister has this evening asked Gavin Williamson to leave the government, having lost confidence in his ability to serve in the role of Defence Secretary and as a member of her Cabinet,” said a spokeswoman from […]

Iglesia Ni Cristo acquires first Church building in Scotland

  By Lyndon Harvey EBC Europe Bureau The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) is now the official owner of a 200-year old church edifice in Glasgow, Scotland, which was previously owned by the New Jerusalem Church. The handover ceremony was held on April 26 at 17 George Street in Paisley, Scotland where the church edifice has stood since it was built by the Methodists in 1810 and then owned by the New Jerusalem Church […]