Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Communication blackouts and blocked roads were hampering rescue efforts Wednesday as Papua New Guinea worked to get a better grasp of the damage wrought by a massive earthquake amid fears of its economic impact. The 7.5-magnitude tremor struck 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Porgera in the Pacific nation’s mountainous Enga province early Monday, with sporadic aftershocks continuing to rumble through the rugged region. Local media reported that aerial surveys of […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — The developer of a building in Taiwan that partially collapsed during an earthquake has been detained for negligent manslaughter with prosecutors saying the man was not licensed to oversee construction projects. The lower floors of the 12-storey Yun Tsui residential building — which also housed a restaurant and hotel — pancaked when a 6.4-magnitude quake struck the tourist hotspot of Hualien on February 6. A total of 17 people died in […]
by Leila MACOR / with Michael Mathes in Washington Agence France Presse PARKLAND, United States (AFP) — Students grieving for slain classmates prepared for an emotional return Wednesday to their Florida high school, where a mass shooting shocked the nation and led teen survivors to spur a growing movement to tighten America’s gun laws. The community of Parkland, Florida, where residents have plunged into tragedy two weeks ago, steeled itself for the resumption of classes […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — North Korea told a United Nations disarmament forum on Tuesday that sanctions over its nuclear program would “never work”, as it voiced further defiance against President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign. The “US should (be) aware that sanctions and pressure will never threaten (North Korea) and never work”, said Han Tae Song, Pyongyang’s envoy to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. The comments came days after Trump unveiled what he […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior aide Jared Kushner has lost his top-level security clearance, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday, a decision with potentially profound implications for the US administration. Two sources, who could not speak on the record because the status of security clearances is classified, confirmed US media reports that the 37-year-old White House aide had lost access to America’s most closely protected secrets. The White House, […]
by Hasan Mohamed © Agence France-Presse DOUMA, Syria (AFP) — A “humanitarian pause” announced by Russia in Syria’s deadly bombardment of Eastern Ghouta failed to end violence Tuesday, with fresh bloodshed and no sign of aid deliveries or residents leaving the besieged enclave. Nine days after Russian-backed regime forces intensified their campaign against the rebel-held enclave, the deal offered some respite to civilians who had been hiding in their basements. But the first day of a five-hour […]
by Park Chan-kyong © Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday demanded a 30-year-jail sentence for former president Park Geun-hye, sacked over a wide-ranging corruption scandal which exposed shady links between big business and politics and prompted massive street protests. The 66-year-old daughter of a former dictator was dismissed in March 2017 and has now been in custody for almost a year. “We ask the court to hand down 30 years in prison […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s propaganda machine kicked into overdrive on Tuesday to defend the Communist Party’s move to lift term limits for President Xi Jinping as criticism persisted on social media in defiance of censorship. The party has shocked many observers by proposing a constitutional amendment to end the two-term limit for president, giving Xi a clear path to rule the world’s second-largest economy for life. Censors have scrambled to block critical comments on […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — More than 30 people are believed to have died after a powerful earthquake struck Papua New Guinea’s mountainous interior, a report said Tuesday as rescue teams worked to reach the worst-hit areas. The 7.5-magnitude tremor struck 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Porgera in the Pacific nation’s Enga province early Monday, with two strong aftershocks rattling the rugged region. Phone lines have been largely cut, but the PNG Post Courier newspaper […]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi King Salman has sacked the military chief of staff and a host of other top commanders, state media said Monday, in a major shake-up of the defense establishment. The monarch also replaced the heads of the ground forces and air defenses, as well as senior officials at the interior ministry, in a series of late-night royal decrees. No official reason was given for the sweeping overhaul, but it comes […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Is it out of bounds to ask a White House advisor about the US president’s behavior when that advisor also happens to be his daughter? Ivanka Trump says yes. Donald Trump’s eldest daughter was confronted with that situation when a journalist asked her about the women who accuse her father of sexual misconduct before he became president. “Do you believe your father’s accusers?” an NBC News journalist asked her in […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Papua New Guinea sent troops and rescue workers after a powerful earthquake struck the Pacific nation’s mountainous interior Monday and damaged a gas plant and other buildings. Authorities warned of aftershocks and landslides. There was no official information on fatalities or injuries in the rugged region but one unconfirmed report of deaths. Assessment teams headed to affected areas near the 7.5-magnitude quake’s epicenter, which the US Geological Survey said was some […]
