MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Hurricane Rosa strengthened Thursday to a Category 4 storm off northern Mexico’s Pacific coast, though it was expected to weaken again before making landfall, the US National Hurricane Center said. “Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 145 miles (230 kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts,” it said in its 0300 GMT bulletin. Forecasters expect the strength could start weakening slowly Saturday into next week. Rosa is currently located 975 kilometers […]
International
Plane ditches into Pacific lagoon
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Passengers were forced to swim for their lives Friday when an airliner ditched into a lagoon after missing the runway on a remote Pacific island and immediately began sinking. The Air Niugini Boeing 737 was attempting to land at Weno airport in Micronesia but ended up half submerged in Chuuk lagoon after the accident on Friday morning. Pictures and video posted on social media showed locals scrambling in small boats […]
Very strong’ typhoon Trami churns towards Japan
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A large, very strong typhoon churned towards Japan Friday, with the weather agency warning the storm would rip through the nation over the weekend, bringing violent winds and torrential rain. Typhoon Trami, packing gusts of a maximum 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour near its center, was in the Pacific spiraling slowly towards Japan’s southern islands. “As it is forecast to go across Japan at a high speed, we are urging […]
US F-35 fighters fly first ever combat mission
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — American F-35 stealth fighters have been used in a combat operation for the first time, officials said, marking a major milestone for the most expensive plane in history. Thursday’s mission took place against Taliban targets in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, when the F-35s flew from the USS Essex amphibious assault ship. The planes deployed were the F-35B variant, used by the Marine Corps and capable of taking off from a short […]
Merkel, Erdogan hold tense talks in shadow of protests
by Antoine LAMBROSCHINI with Michelle FITZPATRICK in Frankfurt Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s Angela Merkel hosts Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Berlin Friday to try to repair badly frayed ties, a task complicated by planned anti-Erdogan protests and the chancellor’s own domestic woes. The pair is meeting a day after Germany beat Turkey to become the Euro 2024 host nation, following a tight race that took on political significance when Erdogan […]
US ambassador calls for Maduro ouster with megaphone diplomacy
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, on Thursday joined Venezuelan protesters outside the world body headquarters and called for the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro. Haley’s embrace of demonstrators was highly unusual for a diplomat from a major power at the state United Nations and came a day after President Donald Trump hinted at military options against Maduro’s leftist government. “We are going to fight for […]
Jeff Bezos space project lands big rocket partnership
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Jeff Bezos backed Blue Origin space exploration project on Thursday landed a major deal to provide engines for a next-generation rocket being built by a major US launch services contractor. United Launch Alliance said that Blue Origin will provide engines for the booster stage of a next-generation rocket — the Vulcan Centaur — which is on track to take to the sky in the year 2020. ULA was created […]
China, Russia call at UN for easing of N.Korea sanctions
by Carole LANDRY Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — China and Russia called Thursday for an easing of sanctions against North Korea, rejecting a US push at the UN Security Council for vigorous enforcement despite warming ties. Led by the United States, the Security Council adopted three sanctions resolutions last year aimed at depriving North Korea of revenue for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a […]
Furious Kavanaugh denies sex assault after accuser testifies
by Elodie CUZIN / Chris Lefkow Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A defiant Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the US Supreme Court, angrily denied sexual assault allegations on Thursday and condemned his bitter Senate confirmation process as a “national disgrace.” Kavanaugh’s passionate defense came after a university professor, Christine Blasey Ford, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he sexually assaulted her 36 years ago. The allegations against the 53-year-old conservative […]
Trudeau rebuffs Trump’s trade talks criticism
by Michel COMTE Agence France Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Any fondness between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump has vanished, it became clear Thursday after the Canadian leader brushed off the US president’s criticism of Canada’s negotiating style in continental trade talks — casting doubts for a quick deal. Trudeau said Trump views the negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as hard “because Canadians are tough negotiators, as we should be.” […]
US regulators charge Tesla CEO Elon Musk with fraud
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud, alleging he misled investors last month in tweets about taking the company private. Musk tweeted August 7 that he had “secured” funding to privatize the electric automaker at $420 a share, causing a brief spike in Tesla’s share price. The SEC said Musk’s statements on Twitter were “false and misleading” and that he had […]
Death toll climbs to almost 200 in Nigeria flooding, says relief agency
ABUJA, Nigeria (AFP) — Nearly 200 people have died in flooding caused by heavy seasonal rains across 12 states in Nigeria, the country’s main relief agency said on Thursday. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said 199 people had lost their lives after the main Niger and Benue rivers burst their banks. A national disaster has been declared in the central states of Kogi, where the two rivers meet, and Niger, plus Delta and […]
