International

DFA to Filipinos: Avoid Hong Kong International Airport as destination, transit airport

(Eagle News)–The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, Aug. 16, advised Filipinos to avoid traveling to Hong Kong International Airport due to  violent protests there. In an advisory, the DFA urged travelers to avoid HKIA also as a  transit airport for the meantime. Those departing from Hong Kong are also urged to call their airlines five hours before to determine if their flights will push through. Filipino travelers departing from Hong Kong should contact their […]

Bruised but unbowed Hong Kong police say no need for China intervention

by Jerome TAYLOR HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s police are confident they have the resources to continue battling pro-democracy protesters, even if violence escalates further, pouring cold water on concerns that the authoritarian mainland might need to intervene. Three senior commanders said they were unaware of any plans by China to bolster their own ranks with mainland troops or police officers, even if the political chaos worsens. And they admitted that any move […]

17 missing in SW China landslide

BEIJING, China (AFP) — More than a dozen workers remained missing Friday after a landslide in southwest China buried a section of railway that was under repair, according to state media. The 17 missing people were carrying out maintenance work on the track Wednesday when the hill above them gave way, China Daily reported. The landslide in Ganluo county in Sichuan province happened very quickly, a witness told the newspaper. “I spotted a strange movement […]

China media says Hong Kong response ‘won’t repeat’ Tiananmen

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Chinese state media vowed Friday there “won’t be a repeat” of the Tiananmen Square crackdown if Beijing moves to quash Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. In a rare reference to the bloody incident — which is usually taboo in mainland China — the Global Times newspaper insisted the country had more sophisticated methods than those it employed 30 years ago to crush protests in the capital. “The incident in Hong Kong […]

‘French Spiderman’ scales Hong Kong skyscraper with ‘peace banner’

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Daredevil Alain Robert — dubbed the ‘French Spiderman’ — climbed a Hong Kong skyscraper on Friday and unfurled a “peace banner” as the financial hub is rocked by historic political unrest. The 57-year-old adventurer, who specializes in unsanctioned ascents of tall buildings, shimmied up the 68-storey Cheung Kong Center in Hong Kong’s main business district in hot and humid conditions on Friday morning. During the climb, he attached a banner […]

US threatens visa ban on crew of Iran tanker

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday threatened a visa ban on the crew of an Iranian supertanker whose departure from Gibraltar Washington failed to block. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the Grace 1 was assisting Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which the US deems a “terrorist organization,” meaning crew members “may be ineligible for visas or admission to the United States under the terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds.” © Agence France-Presse

North Korea fires two ‘unidentified projectiles’: Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired two “unidentified projectiles” into the sea on Friday, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said — the latest in a series of such launches by Pyongyang. The South Korean military said the projectiles were fired from near the city of Tongchon of Kangwon Province into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. “The military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches while […]

China says it won’t ‘sit by’ on Hong Kong, Trump expresses concern

by Jerome TAYLOR HONG KONG, China (AFP) — China warned Thursday that it will not “sit by and watch” the unrest unfolding in Hong Kong, as US President Donald Trump expressed concern over the risk of a violent response to pro-democracy protests. Trump urged his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to meet with demonstrators, while US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned Beijing against creating a “new” Tiananmen Square in Hong Kong, referring to the deadly […]

Powerful Japan storm turns deadly, snarls holiday travel

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful tropical storm lashed Japan on Thursday, bringing strong winds and torrential rain that claimed at least one life, prompted warnings of landslides and flooding, and sparked evacuation advisories and travel chaos at a peak holiday period. Severe Tropical Storm Krosa — one notch below a typhoon — slammed into the southern Hiroshima region, packing wind gusts of up to 126 kilometers (78 miles) per hour. Dramatic television footage showed […]

Russians hail ‘hero’ pilot after Moscow emergency landing

by Michael MAINVILLE MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A Russian pilot was hailed as a hero Thursday for safely landing an Airbus carrying more than 230 people in a Moscow cornfield after a bird strike. The Ural Airlines A321 flying to Crimea hit a flock of seagulls shortly after take-off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport early Thursday, the Rosaviatsia air transport agency said in a statement. Birds were sucked into the engines and the crew decided to […]

Russian Airbus makes emergency landing in corn field

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A Russian Airbus with more than 230 people on board was forced to make an emergency landing in a corn field outside Moscow on Thursday after hitting a flock of seagulls, officials said. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries. The Ural Airlines A321 was carrying 226 passengers and seven crew from Moscow’s Zhukovsky airport to Simferopol in Russia-annexed Crimea, the Rosaviatsia air transport agency said in a statement. […]

Chinese military personnel parade near Hong Kong border: AFP

    SHENZHEN, China (AFP) — Thousands of Chinese military personnel waving red flags paraded at a sports stadium in a city across the border from Hong Kong on Thursday, an AFP reporter witnessed. Armored vehicles were also seen inside the stadium in Shenzhen, with the event taking place as concerns build that China may intervene to end 10 weeks of unrest in Hong Kong. State-run media reported this week that the elements of the […]