International

Brazil mine disaster death toll jumps to 84: official

BRUMANDINHO, Brazil (AFP) — The number of people killed by the collapse of a dam at a Brazilian mining complex rose from 65 to 84 on Tuesday, with the number of missing down from 292 to 276, an official said. Lieutenant Flavio Godinho, Civil Defense spokesman in the Minas Gerais state where the accident happened, said 42 bodies have now been identified after five days of an intense search operation through the mud. © Agence […]

Stacey Abrams to deliver Democrat rebuttal to Trump speech

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democrats on Tuesday picked Stacey Abrams, who rose to prominence in her heated but unsuccessful Georgia governor’s race, to deliver the rebuttal to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, a first for an African-American woman. The president will give his annual speech on February 5 before a joint session of Congress, after it was postponed because of the partial government shutdown. Abrams is a former Georgia legislative leader but […]

‘French Spiderman’ arrested after scaling Manila skyscraper

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — French urban free-climber Alain Robert was arrested on Tuesday, police said, after he scaled one of Manila’s tallest towers in his latest high-risk ascent. The 56-year old adventurer dubbed the “French spiderman” climbed the 47-storey GT Tower without safety equipment, leaving watchers on the ground staring in amazement. “This is my path, this is my way of living. It is as important to me as eating, sleeping. I need that. It […]

Bomb blast kills 7 Yemeni civilians in market

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — A bomb attack in a market killed seven Yemeni civilians including a photographer for a UAE television channel in the government-controlled town of Mokha, medics and military sources said Tuesday. At least 20 people were wounded in the overnight blast in the Red Sea town, where pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Huthi rebels are based. The improvised explosive device was planted on a motorcycle parked […]

Sea of white: ‘Hundreds of thousands’ of fish dead in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — “Hundreds of thousands” of fish have died in drought-stricken Australia in the last few days and more mass deaths are likely to occur, the authorities warned Tuesday. Locals around the Darling River were confronted with a sea of white, as dead fish carpeted the waters near the southeastern Outback town of Menindee. Just weeks after up to a million were killed — with scientists pointing to low water and oxygen levels […]

China executes man who killed 15 people in car attack

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese authorities on Tuesday executed a man who killed 15 people after ramming a car into a crowded square in central Hunan province last year. Last September, Yang Zanyun ploughed a Land Rover into pedestrians at a public square in Hengdong city before slashing at people with a shovel and dagger. Fifteen people were killed and 43 others were injured. The Hengyang Intermediate People’s Court in Hunan province said Tuesday it […]

Four dead, 195 injured in Havana tornado

by Moises AVILA / Adalberto ROQUE Agence France Presse HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — A rare and powerful tornado has devastated sections of Havana, killing four people and injuring 195, as it overturned cars, uprooted trees and destroyed dozens of homes. A shaken resident, recalling a night of terror, said she clutched her daughter and crouched down in her kitchen as the tornado came roaring in Sunday night. “It was as if rocks were falling — […]

China decries ‘political manipulations’ behind Huawei case in US

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Tuesday decried the “political manipulations” behind the US case against Huawei as Washington indicted the tech giant’s chief financial officer and leveled sweeping charges against the company. “For some time, the US has used state power to discredit and crack down on specific Chinese companies in an attempt to strangle the enterprises’ legitimate and legal operations,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “There are strong political motivations and […]

Toronto faces first snowstorm of 2019

By Angela Milano EBC Correspondent, Toronto TORONTO (Eagle News) — Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the entire Greater Toronto Area and the rest of Southern Ontario. In Toronto, heavy snow started falling just before noon and continues to envelop the city. The upcoming winter storm is expected to leave the city with 15-20 centimetres of snow Monday evening to Tuesday morning the next day. Because of the heavy snowfall, commuters are dealing with […]

Britain’s ‘zombie PM’ May staggers into battle

by James PHEBY Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May heads into her latest Brexit battle on Tuesday weakened but still determined to get her legacy-defining deal through parliament, as MPs wrestle to take control of the process. To her supporters, May is a model of resilience, but to her critics she is an inflexible leader oblivious to the changing circumstances around her. She has suffered the ignominy of […]

Pretoria to Paris – Paul Willemse’s path to Test rugby

by Nicolas KIENAST / Illtud DAFYDD Agence France Presse MARCOUSSIS, France (AFP) — Two continents, three clubs and a new language. South African-born Paul Willemse has taken the long route to potentially making his debut for France in Friday’s Six Nations opener against Wales. Willemse arrived on French soil in 2014 as a 21-year-old a matter of weeks after losing a Currie Cup semi-final with the Blue Bulls, and little did he know five years […]

Guaido’s mother ‘surprised’ by son’s rise in Venezuela

by Lissy DE ABREU Agence France Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Norka Marquez was standing near her son, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, when he declared himself the crisis-torn country’s new president. But she says she never saw it coming. Guaido, the head of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled legislature, raised his right hand before a crowd of thousands of supporters on Wednesday and proclaimed himself acting head of state. In doing so, he defied socialist President Nicolas Maduro, […]