International

New UN Global Climate report ‘another strong wake-up call’ over global warming: Guterres

The increasing number of natural disasters and dangers linked to climate change, highlighted in a major UN report released on Thursday, represents “another strong wake-up call” to the world, which must be countered by finding sustainable solutions quickly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said. Speaking at the launch of the State of the Global Climate report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for action, underlining that the alarming conclusion that […]

Trump, Moon to meet in Washington in April: Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US President Donald Trump will host his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in next month, Seoul said Friday, after the latest summit between Washington and Pyongyang ended in deadlock. Moon has long backed a policy of engagement with nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit Pyongyang and was instrumental in brokering talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But the failure of Kim and Trump to reach an agreement in Hanoi on curtailing […]

Bangladesh firefighters comb blaze-hit skyscraper

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — Firefighters were combing through the charred shell of a Bangladesh skyscraper Friday where at least 19 people died in a high-rise blaze, with many having jumped to their deaths. Flames tore through the 22-storey FR Tower in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, trapping hundreds of office workers. Some made it to safety by sliding down cables on the side of the building, but others took their chances and jumped in a bid to […]

US Supreme Court stays execution of ‘Texas Seven’ convict

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the execution of one of the last members of the “Texas Seven,” a group of escaped prisoners who killed a police officer during a high-profile crime spree in 2000. The court granted Patrick Murphy, 57, a last-minute reprieve in the name of religious equality, pointing out that under Texas policy, Christian and Muslim clerics can be present in the execution room, while […]

PM Jacinda Ardern’s address to national ceremony for mosque attack victims

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — Herewith the text of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s address to a national remembrance ceremony Friday for the 50 Muslims slain by a white supremacist in two Christchurch mosques on March 15: “We gather here, 14 days on from our darkest of hours. “In the days that have followed the terrorist attack on the 15th of March, we have often found ourselves without words. “What words adequately express the […]

Britain to hold third vote in Brexit crisis

by Joe JACKSON LONDON, United States (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May will put her twice-rejected Brexit divorce deal to a third parliamentary vote on Friday in a renewed bid to avoid a chaotic split from the European Union in two weeks. May’s throw of the dice comes a day after her dramatic pledge to resign in order to persuade her rivals to finally back her vision for breaking Britain’s 46-year membership of the bloc. […]

Trump threatens to shut Mexico border, again

by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday again threatened to seal the US-Mexican border, claiming in a tweet that America’s southern neighbor is allowing illegal immigrants to cross unhindered. “May close the Southern Border!” the president wrote. “Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action,” he said. “Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken […]

Mexico raises alert level as volcano spews ash, lava

XALITZINTLA, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico raised the warning level for the Popocatepetl volcano to one step shy of a red alert Thursday, after it repeatedly spewed ash, smoke and lava into the air. “Popo,” as locals in central Mexico call the volcano with a mixture of affection and fear, has been acting up in recent days. Authorities raised the alert level to “yellow phase three” — one step short of ordering an evacuation — after […]

Guatemala in mourning after 18 die in hit-and-run

SOLOIA, Guatemala (AFP) — A truck ploughed into a crowd of indigenous Guatemalans gathered on a highway, leaving 18 dead as it drove off without stopping and plunging the Central American country into an outpouring of grief on Thursday. The government announced three days of mourning after the incident late Wednesday in the western town of Nahuala, whose population of around 65,000 are mostly K’iche’ Maya. A group of people had converged at the entrance […]

Swimmers break two records on first day of NCAA Division I men’s swimming championships

AUSTIN, Texas (Eagle News) – Defending National Champions and host Texas Longhorns started Day 1 of the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships on a record-breaking high at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in Austin. Olympic champion Townley Haas led the Longhorns to record the fastest 800-yard freestyle relay in NCAA history with a finishing time of 6:05, which is also a new American record. Fans rallied behind their host team, […]

UK PM to renew Brexit deal push after pledge to resign

  by Alice Ritchie/ Robin Millard Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May will renew attempts to push through her Brexit plan, after she dramatically offered to quit to save her deal and MPs failed in their own bid to break the deadlock. At risk of losing control of the process of leaving the European Union, the leader announced she would resign if parliament finally backed her withdrawal agreement. […]

30 Guatemalans killed by truck: officials

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) –At least 30 indigenous Guatemalans were killed on Wednesday night when they were struck on a highway by a semi-trailer truck in the town of Nahuala in the country’s west, rescue workers said. “Personnel from the Departmental Municipal Firefighters have counted at least 30 dead people at this point,” spokesman Cecilio Chacaj told reporters. The group had congregated at the site of a hit-and-run accident that had killed a resident of their […]