International

First journeys on Hong Kong-Macau-mainland mega bridge

  by Elaine Yu Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The world’s longest sea bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China opened to traffic Wednesday, with excited travellers making their first journeys along what has been described as a politically-driven and costly white elephant. Passengers and tour groups gathered at Hong Kong’s cross-border coach terminus and bus operators gave away Chinese pastries and roasted meat to passengers. “I wanted to try this […]

Church Of Christ thanks police officers’ immediate aid, various groups’ messages of support after arson attempt at Church’s Seattle locale

(Eagle News) – The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) said it would continue its worship services and would not be deterred in spreading love to its fellowmen, as it thanked police officers who immediately responded to an arson attempt at the Church’s local congregation in Seattle Thursday night, Oct. 18. In a statement, Barrington Thompson, the INC District minister for the Pacific Northwest region covering Seattle, noted and expressed appreciation for the Seattle police […]

Hurricane Willa makes landfall in Mexico

MAZATLAN, Mexico (AFP) —  Hurricane Willa made landfall in Mexico Tuesday, lashing the Pacific coast with powerful wind, heavy rain and what forecasters warned was “extremely dangerous” storm surge. “The eye of Hurricane Willa is now over the coastline near the town of Escuinapa, Sinaloa,” Mexico’s National Meteorological Service said on Twitter. The powerful storm, which was a maximum Category 5 hurricane on Monday, had weakened to Category 3 as it moved toward land. But forecasters […]

US revokes Saudi visas in first action over Khashoggi

by Shaun TANDON / with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara and Stuart Williams in Istanbul Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Tuesday it was revoking visas of Saudi officials involved in the “brutal murder” of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in its first major action against the longtime ally as global outrage escalated. The visa curbs came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudis’ Istanbul consulate had […]

Family border crossings surge to ‘crisis’ level: White House

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Families crossing the US-Mexico border illegally surged to a “crisis” level in September as Trump administration policies failed to deter the inflow of migrants from Central America, officials said Tuesday. The US Border Patrol apprehended 16,658 people who arrived in the country as families last month, some 900 more than August and nearly 12,000 more than September one year ago. The surge was reported as President Donald Trump has called […]

Around 20 injured in Rome escalator incident

ROME, Italy (AFP) — Around 20 people were injured Tuesday when an escalator leading to a metro station in central Rome collapsed in an accident believed to have been caused by Russian football fans, Italian media said. The AGI news agency said that “a large group of CSKA fans, probably under the influence of alcohol, began to jump together, provoking the collapse” of one part of the escalator. CSKA Moscow was playing Roma in a […]

N.Korea rights ‘not changed’ despite rapprochement: UN

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — A senior UN official warned Tuesday that recent rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, as well as between North Korea and the United States had not been accompanied by an improvement in human rights in the reclusive country. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the North, urged Pyongyang to show willingness to start addressing the issue following key summits with both South Korea and the […]

Khashoggi killing: Trump slams ‘worst cover-up ever’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump charged Tuesday that a Saudi operation to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul had given rise to “one of the worst cover-ups” in history. “They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups,” Trump declared in the Oval Office. “Bad deal, should have never been thought of. […]

Taiwan investigates train crash that killed 18

by Amber WANG / Sean CHANG Agence France-Presse YILAN, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan’s president pushed for a swift investigation Monday after an express train derailed on a coastal tourist route, killing 18 people as it sent sleeping passengers flying from their seats. The crash on the popular east coast line injured another 187 people Sunday and left the Puyuma Express lying zig-zagged across the tracks in the island’s worst rail accident for a quarter century. […]

JUST IN: 5.7 magnitude earthquake off east Taiwan, felt strongly in Taipei

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Taiwan Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, and was felt strongly in the capital Taipei. The quake struck around 104 kilometers (66 miles) off the coast of Hualien city, in the east of the island, at a depth of 34 km at 12:34 pm (0434 GMT). There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Taiwan’s central weather bureau measured the quake at 6.0 magnitude. © Agence […]

Trump to cut Central America aid as migrant caravan rolls on

by Jennifer GONZALEZ COVARRUBIAS / with Jerome CARTILLIER in Washington Agence France Presse HUEHUETAN, Mexico (AFP) — President Donald Trump said Monday the United States will start cutting aid to three Central American countries as a caravan of thousands of mostly Honduran migrants rolled on toward the US border. The United Nations said more than 7,000 people were now heading toward the United States, as more migrants joined the original group, including some Central Americans […]

Hurricane Willa upgraded to Category 5 storm off Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Hurricane Willa was upgraded to a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 storm Monday off Mexico’s Pacific coast, where it was expected to produce life-threatening wind and flooding, the US National Hurricane Center said. The powerful hurricane was on course to slam into Mexico somewhere around the resort town of Mazatlan on Tuesday afternoon or evening, the NHC said in its 1500 GMT advisory. It now has maximum sustained winds of 260 kilometers […]