International

Disgraced Cardinal Pell sentenced to six years in jail

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Disgraced Australian Cardinal George Pell was sentenced to six years in jail for child sex crimes in a Melbourne court Wednesday, with a minimum period of three years and eight months to be served. Chief Justice Peter Kidd told the County Count of Victoria that he had weighed Pell’s “appalling offending” as well as his advanced age — 77 — and that he had led an “otherwise blameless life” in setting […]

Judge says disgraced Australian cardinal Pell may die in prison

  MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Disgraced Australian Cardinal George Pell “may not live to be released from prison”, the judge warned a Melbourne court Wednesday as the sentencing of the 77-year-old for child sex crimes began. Pell, the most senior Catholic clergyman ever found guilty of child sex abuse, faces a maximum 50 years in prison for assaulting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral in 1996-97. The Australian cleric has been in custody since late […]

Ethiopian Airlines crash: What is the MCAS system on the Boeing 737 Max 8?

by Chris Lefkow WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Similarities between the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes have focused attention on an anti-stalling system used in the new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft. The Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) is an automated safety feature on the 737 Max 8 designed to prevent the plane from entering into a stall, or losing lift. Both the Lion Air jet, which crashed in October, killing 189 people, and […]

3,000 IS members surrender to Syria force in 24 hours: spokesman

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Three thousand Islamic State members have surrendered in the last 24 hours as US-backed forces close in on their last holdout in eastern Syria a spokesman said late Tuesday. “Number of Daesh (IS) members surrendered to us since yesterday (Monday) evening has risen to 3,000,” Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustefa Bali wrote in English on Twitter Three women and four children of the Yazidi minority were also rescued, he added. © […]

Several charged in US over Chinese student visa scheme

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Several California residents were arrested Tuesday in connection with a scheme to help Chinese nationals obtain student visas by hiring people to take English proficiency exams for the foreign students. Federal authorities allege that those involved in the plot used counterfeit Chinese passports to impersonate 19 different students who were required to take the so-called TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam in order to get a […]

Pressure builds on US to ground Boeing 737 MAX jets after Ethiopia crash

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States stood increasingly isolated Tuesday over its refusal to ground Boeing 737 MAX airplanes, after a second deadly crash in less than five months prompted governments worldwide to ban the aircraft. Despite the aviation giant’s assurances that the plane is safe and reliable, the European Union, Britain and India joined China and other countries that either grounded the best-selling workhorse plane or banned it from their airspace as […]

Brexit defeat leaves May’s authority in tatters

by Alice RITCHIE LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May staked everything on getting her Brexit deal, and its rejection on Tuesday has left her authority severely damaged. The Conservative leader had already sparked anger and frustration at home and in Brussels for taking the Brexit talks down to the wire. These have now been shown to have failed, with dozens of her own MPs voting for a second time to reject […]

Thousands of Venezuelans protest against Maduro amid blackout

by Maria Isabel SANCHEZ CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Thousands of Venezuelans marched in fresh protests Tuesday called by opposition leader Juan Guaido on the fifth day of a crippling power blackout as the government of President Nicolas Maduro prepared to charge him with “sabotage.” Demonstrators banged pots and sounded car horns as the protest got underway in a square in the east of the capital. Many waved large banners calling on Maduro to go. “The […]

Sacramento Republic FC kick off 2019 USL with a tie against Real Monarchs SLC

By Macy Membrere and Jason Tajima EBC Sacramento Bureau SACRAMENTO, California (Eagle News) — The 2019 United Soccer League (USL) regular season officially kicked off for the Sacramento Republic FC and Real Monarchs SLC. Team captain Cameron Iwasa of Sac Republic made a plea to the crowd before the start of the match, saying “We come out for you every night. Keep bringing the noise!” In the past, the Republic FC and Real Monarchs have played […]

Man City launch child sex abuse compensation scheme

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Manchester City have launched a compensation scheme for survivors of historical child sex abuse in football, the Premier League club have announced. The scale of abuse among youth teams in Britain came to light in 2016, when a string of ex-footballers, including England internationals, told of the crimes inflicted upon them, including years of being repeatedly raped. Former football coach Barry Bennell was last year sentenced to 30 years in […]

Australia, Singapore ban Boeing 737 MAX jets, more airlines ground plane

by Sam Reeves Agence France Presse SINGAPORE (AFP) — Australia and Singapore on Tuesday banned Boeing 737 MAX planes from their airspace and airlines around the world grounded the jets following a second deadly accident in just five months. On Sunday a new Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight to Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board. It came after a Lion Air jet of the same model crashed in […]

US regulators order improvements to Boeing jet after latest crash

  by Heather Scott Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US regulators have ordered Boeing to make urgent improvements to its popular 737 Max 8 aircraft after the second deadly accident in a few months prompted the grounding of fleets around the world. Singapore Tuesday banned the use of the high-tech jet in its airspace, becoming the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions worried about the safety of the flagship plane. On […]