International

Trump names Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court, Senate battle looms

by Michael Mathes Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – President Donald Trump on Monday nominated conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court, a decision likely to cement a rightward tilt on the top judicial body with momentous implications for American society. Trump’s decision stands to be among the most consequential of his presidency, as he seeks to shape the high court to his conservative leanings for decades to come. With Kavanaugh a […]

Taiwan shuts down for Typhoon Maria

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) – Schools and offices in Taiwan will close Tuesday and flights have been cancelled as Typhoon Maria churns towards Taiwan bringing torrential rains and powerful winds. Maria was 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of the northeastern coastal town of Yilan with gusts of up to 190 kilometres an hour as of 10 am local time (0200 GMT), the weather bureau said. Its impact was expected to be the strongest from late Tuesday […]

Eight boys rescued from Thai cave in good mental, physical state: officials

MAE SAI, Thailand (AFP) – The first eight boys rescued from a Thai cave are in good mental and physical health and are asking for chocolate, officials said Tuesday, although two were on antibiotics after being tested for pneumonia. “Everyone is in a good mental state,” Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the public health ministry, told reporters at Chiang Rai hospital. “None of the eight boys has fever today,” he added in the clearest update […]

UPDATED: Japan rescuers go house to house as flood toll hits 156

by Hiroshi Hiyama  Agence France-Presse KURASHIKI, Japan (AFP) — Rescue workers carried out house-to-house searches Tuesday in the increasingly unlikely hope of finding survivors after days of deadly floods and landslides that have claimed 156 lives in Japan’s worst weather-related disaster for decades. The record downpours that began last week have stopped and receding flood waters have laid bare the destruction that has cut a swathe through the west of the country. In the city […]

Sanofi shuts down factory over toxic waste outcry

by Etienne Balmer Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – French pharmaceuticals group Sanofi announced late Monday an immediate halt in production at a chemical factory in southwest France, in the wake of media reports that toxic waste emissions exceeded the norms. “Sanofi Chemical has decided from today to stop production at its Mourenx site and to carry out the announced technical improvements needed to return to normal,” the group said in a brief statement. It […]

Reuters reporters to face Myanmar trial for ‘breaking’ secrecy law

by Athens Zaw Zaw Agence France-Presse YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) – Two Reuters reporters accused of breaking Myanmar’s draconian secrecy law during their reporting of a Rohingya massacre must face trial, a judge said Monday, in a ruling swiftly decried as a “black day” for press freedom in the country. Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were arrested in December and accused of possessing leaked sensitive material linked to security operations in […]

May stares down Brexit plan backlash as ministers quit

by Dario THUBURN Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom – British Prime Minister Theresa May faced down a backlash against her strategy for leaving the European Union on Monday as both her Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit minister David Davis resigned in protest. Johnson warned in his letter of resignation to May that Britain was headed for the “status of colony” of the EU after it leaves in March, and said the Brexit “dream is […]

Erdogan takes on new powers, names son-in-law finance chief

by Raziye Akkoc and Stuart Williams in Istanbul Agence France-Presse ANKARA, Turkey – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday took on greater powers than any Turkish leader for decades as he was sworn in for a second presidential term, naming his son-in-law to the key post of finance minister in a revamped cabinet. Erdogan, who has already transformed Turkey in 15 years of rule, took his oath of office in parliament under the new presidential […]

Shinzo Abe cancels overseas trip as rain toll hits 100: local media

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has canceled a four-country foreign trip as the death toll from flooding and landslides caused by record rains hit 100, local media said Monday. Abe had been expected to visit Belgium, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt from Wednesday. His office declined to comment on the reports. Abe reportedly told the deputy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that he had “no choice but to cancel” […]

Toll in record Japan rains hits 100: gov’t spokesman

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The toll in days of devastating rains in Japan has risen to 100, the government’s top spokesman said Monday, as search-and-rescue operations continued. Yoshihide Suga said 87 people had been confirmed dead from the severe floods, with another 13 found with no vital signs, adding that more than a dozen people were still missing. © Agence France-Presse

Landslide warnings as Japan digs through rain devastation

by Hiroshi Hiyama Agence France-Presse Desperate relatives braced for bad news Monday as rescuers dug through landslides in the wake of severe floods that have killed 75 people and left swathes of central and western Japan under water. As floods receded, emergency workers were able to reach previously cut-off places where authorities fear they could find more bodies in the wreckage of homes devastated by rivers of mud and debris. “I have asked my family […]