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By Huw GRIFFITH LOS ANGELES, Dec 29, 2023 (AFP) – Huge surf was battering the US West Coast on Friday, with forecasters warning of more danger ahead after a rogue wave swept pedestrians off their feet and swamped a hotel. Rollers as high as 30 feet (nine meters) were expected to lash parts of California and Oregon as a powerful storm capped a year of wild — and often wet — weather for the region. […]
WASHINGTON, Dec 29, 2023 (AFP) – SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket blasted back into space on Thursday night to ferry the US military’s secretive X-37B drone to a research mission. After weeks of delays, the rocket launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:07 pm Eastern Time (0107 GMT Friday) in a liftoff livestreamed on SpaceX’s website. It is unclear where exactly the uncrewed and autonomously operating spacecraft is headed on its seventh mission. […]
LONDON, Dec 28, 2023 (AFP) – Three people died on Thursday after their car fell into a river in northern England, local police said, as Storm Gerrit battered much of the UK. Emergency services headed to the River Esk near the town of Glaisdale shortly before midday (1200 GMT), after reports that a vehicle had fallen into the river. “The vehicle was recovered from the river by the fire service just after 3:00 pm. Sadly, […]
By Anita Chang BEATTIE WASHINGTON, Dec 29, 2023 (AFP) – The US state of Maine on Thursday blocked former president Donald Trump from its Republican presidential primary ballot, becoming the second state to disqualify him over his role in the January 2021 assault on the US Capitol. Maine’s top election official, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, said in her ruling that the events of January 6, 2021 “occurred at the behest of, and with the […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Anuj Chopra in Jerusalem GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Dec 28, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli forces on Thursday battled Hamas in Gaza where air strikes and urban combat rocked the southern city of Khan Yunis, near where many hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge. UN World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for “urgent steps to alleviate the grave peril” facing besieged Gaza’s people, including “terrible injuries, acute […]
By Anna MALPAS KYIV, Ukraine, Dec 29, 2023 (AFP) – Russia launched a wave of missile strikes on Friday across Ukrainian cities, including the capital, officials said, as they raised a nationwide air alert. “We are doing everything to strengthen our air shield. But the world needs to see that we need more support and strength to stop this terror,” Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram. AFP reporters in central Kyiv heard several […]
TEHRAN, Dec 29, 2023 (AFP) – Iran on Friday hanged four people convicted of spying for arch foe Israel, the judiciary said, less than two weeks after authorities had executed a man on similar grounds. “Four members of a sabotage group related to the Zionist regime (Israel)… were hanged this morning” in Iran’s northwestern province of West Azerbaijan, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported. It identified them as three men — Vafa Hanareh, Aram […]
YANGON, Myanmar, Dec 28, 2023 (AFP) – China’s embassy in Myanmar on Thursday asked its citizens to leave a northern district along the countries’ shared border, citing heightened security risks as ethnic minority armed groups battle the junta. Fighting has raged across Myanmar’s northern Shan state since October, when the so-called “Three Brotherhood Alliance” of ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the military. The alliance has seized several towns and border hubs vital for […]
WASHINGTON, Dec 27, 2023 (AFP) – The US government on Wednesday announced what it said was the last remaining package of weapons available for Ukraine under existing authorization, with Congress now needing to decide whether to keep supporting Kyiv’s battle against Russian invasion. “The year’s final package” includes air-defense and artillery munitions, the State Department said in a statement. It added that Congress, where Republicans are split on supporting Ukraine, should “act swiftly” to renew […]
WASHINGTON, Dec 27, 2023 (AFP) – A federal court handed Apple a victory on Wednesday by suspending a ban on the US sale of its latest watch models in a feud over patents with health company Masimo. “We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year,” an Apple spokesperson said in an email to AFP. “Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the […]
By Sean GLEESON with Mark ANDERSON in Hong Kong NEW DELHI, Dec 28, 2023 (AFP) – India’s government has again targeted high-profile journalists with Pegasus spyware, Amnesty International and The Washington Post said in a joint investigation published Thursday. Created by Israeli firm NSO Group, Pegasus can be used to access a phone’s messages and emails, peruse photos, eavesdrop on calls, track locations and even film the owner with the camera. Watchdogs have documented widespread […]
SEOUL, Dec 28, 2023 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged his party to “accelerate” war preparations including its nuclear programme, state media said Thursday. The comments came just a week after Kim warned Pyongyang would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if “provoked” with nukes. Kim made the comments at the North’s ongoing year-end party meeting, where he is expected to unveil key policy decisions for 2024. Kim asked the party […]
