Many homes and buildings, as well as major infrastructure, were reported damaged in Alaska after a powerful 7.0 magnitude quake rocked its largest city, Anchorage, on Friday, Nov. 30, violently shaking homes and businesses, sending scared residents into the streets. The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at 8:29 am (1729 GMT), in the middle of the school run and as workers were heading out for the day. Several people were wounded, mainly from broken glass and […]
International
JUST IN: Former US president George H.W. Bush dead at 94
Former US president George H.W. Bush, who helped steer America through the end of the Cold War, has died at age 94, his family announced late Friday. “Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” his son, former president George W. Bush, said in a statement released on Twitter by a family spokesman. “George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character […]
New-found debris believed from Flight MH370 handed to Malaysia govt
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AFP) — Relatives of those on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Friday handed over new-found debris believed to be from the ill-fated plane, hoping it could help shed light on the jet’s mysterious disappearance four years ago. The Boeing 777 jet with 239 people on board vanished on March 8, 2014 during a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur in the world’s greatest aviation mystery. An official report released in July following a […]
Two Koreas start landmark journey for railway reconnection
by Park Chan-kyong Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A South Korean train crossed into North Korea on Friday for the first time in a decade — packed with engineers on a mission to upgrade the North’s dilapidated rail tracks and create a linked, cross-border network. Connecting up the railway systems was one of the agreements made earlier this year in a key meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the […]
Five dead, 32 injured in Hong Kong coach crash
Hong Kong, China (AFP) — Five people were killed and 32 injured when a coach carrying Cathay Pacific staff to Hong Kong’s airport collided with a taxi on Friday, police said, with passengers thrown from the coach’s windows on impact. The back half of the taxi was completely crushed and both sides of the bus were damaged with traces of blood on the outside following the crash on the island of Tsing Yi. Police […]
S. Korean president’s approval below 50% in poll first
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s approval rating has dipped below 50 percent for the first time, a poll showed Thursday, as economic hardship bites and concerns rise over a rapid drive toward reconciliation with the North. Moon’s popularity hovered near 80 percent in May — an all-time high for any South Korean president at the end of their first year in office — in the wake of a landmark summit […]
Thousands evacuated as Australian bushfires rage
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Thousands of people were being evacuated from their homes in northeast Australia late Wednesday, as bushfires raged across Queensland state amid a scorching heatwave. Some 8,000 people were told to leave the town of Gracemere, south of the central coast area of Rockhampton, as a fast-moving blaze threatened homes. The Bureau of Meteorology declared a “catastrophic” fire danger — the highest possible risk rating — in some central areas, while firefighters […]
New Zealand says Huawei ban not because it’s Chinese
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand denied Thursday that telecommunications giant Huawei was banned from a 5G network rollout because it is Chinese, saying the problem it faced was a technological one. Wellington also dismissed suggestions its intelligence services came under pressure from allies in the “Five Eyes” spy network to bar Huawei amid fears about cybersecurity and its potential links to Beijing. “It’s not about the country, it’s not even particularly about the […]
Not enough ketchup: US woman attacks McDonald’s manager
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A California woman was behind bars on Wednesday for beating and choking a McDonald’s manager after discovering there wasn’t enough ketchup in her order, police said. Mayra Berenice Gallo, 24, apparently went into a rage on October 27 after ordering food through the drive-through at the fast food outlet in the town of Santa Ana. Police spokesman Anthony Bertagna told AFP that an infuriated Gallo stormed into the restaurant […]
US Navy ships sail through Taiwan Strait
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Two US Navy ships sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, the third such operation this year and one that is sure to anger China. Lieutenant Rachel McMarr, a spokeswoman for the US Pacific Fleet, said the destroyer USS Stockdale and oiler USNS Pecos sailed through the strait in a “routine” transit. “The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” McMarr […]
Saudi prince in Argentina as G20 summit tensions brew
by Denis BARNETT Agence France Presse BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — World leaders began arriving in Argentina Wednesday ahead of a G20 summit dogged by increasingly strident warnings about the impact on the world economy of threatened US trade tariffs. US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is a dominant theme at the weekend summit but one sideshow is how leaders deal with the presence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The de […]
China’s Xi vows to better protect intellectual property
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — China’s President Xi Jinping told Spanish lawmakers on Wednesday his country would boost protection of intellectual property ahead of a G20 meeting where he faces a trade showdown with the United States. Xi is due to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump at the gathering in Argentina this week, with Washington threatening to ramp up a trade war with Beijing if it doesn’t allay US concerns over intellectual property theft and […]





