International

Ten journalists including Agence France Presse photographer among dozens killed in Afghan attacks

  by Mushtaq Mojaddidi Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Ten journalists including Agence France-Presse’s chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, were among dozens killed in attacks across Afghanistan Monday, the deadliest day for the country’s media since 2001. The attacks highlight the dangers journalists face in the war-torn country, where violence is increasing as the resurgent Taliban step up their campaign while the Islamic State group makes inroads. A double suicide blast in […]

EBC marks 50th year with outreach activities; gov’t officials laud efforts in US

  (Eagle News) – As part of the celebration of its 50th anniversary, Eagle Broadcasting Corporation’s bureaus in the United States conducted outreach activities that included helping Samaritan House, an organization in Virginia that helps homeless families and victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. The event, spearheaded by EBC’s Washington D.C. Bureau in partnership with the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ), a global church active in community service and outreach programs, was lauded […]

Landslide in northern China kills 9

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A landslide killed nine people in a village in northern China on Monday, authorities said. The disaster occurred in the village of Caijiazhuang shortly before 5:00 am (2100 GMT Sunday), Luliang municipal government in Shanxi province said on its official social media account. More than a hundred firefighters, medical workers, and rescuers — some using earth-moving machinery — were sent to the site to search for survivors trapped under the fallen […]

Central American migrants reach US border

TIJUANA, Mexico (AFP) — At least 150 Central American migrants reached the border between Mexico and the United States on Sunday, determined to seek asylum from the US. The group arrived in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, part of a caravan of more than 1,000 people who set out from Mexico’s southern border on March 25. “We still need to ask for asylum and we hope the US government will open the doors,” Reyna […]

North-linked firms soar on Seoul market after summit

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Shares in South Korean builders, railway component makers and other firms with links to the North rocketed on Monday as Friday’s inter-Korea summit fuelled optimism for new cross-border projects. The historic meeting saw the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowing to “encourage more active cooperation, exchanges” and promote “co-prosperity.” The declaration sent shares of many firms which were once involved in now moribund inter-Korean […]

Tehran dismisses Pompeo’s ‘unfounded’ accusations

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran on Monday dismissed “unfounded” accusations by new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over its “ambition to dominate the Middle East.” Pompeo lashed out at Tehran on Sunday during a rapid tour of Middle East allies ahead of a crucial White House decision on whether to quit a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Speaking during a visit to Iran’s arch-rival and key US ally Saudi Arabia just days after […]

Japan’s Abe in the UAE to boost ties

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the United Arab Emirates late Sunday for talks aimed at boosting political and economic ties. Abu Dhabi is the first leg of Abe’s Middle East tour which will also take him to Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. Abe is scheduled to meet UAE leaders on Monday and also attend a Japan-UAE business forum to highlight the scope for cooperation between […]

Twin Kabul suicide blasts kill at least 21, including journalists

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — At least 21 people were killed, including Agence France-Presse chief photographer Shah Marai and three other journalists, when two suicide blasts ripped through Kabul on Monday, the health ministry and AFP have confirmed. Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh told Afghanistan’s largest private TV channel Tolo news that at least 27 people were wounded and rushed to the hospital, warning that some were in critical condition and the toll could yet rise. The second […]

Syria strikes kill 26 fighters, mostly Iranians: monitor

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Missile strikes overnight in central Syria killed at least 26 pro-regime fighters, most of them Iranians, a monitor said Monday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the missiles struck a military base in the province of Hama late Sunday, in an assault it said bore the hallmarks of an Israeli operation. “At least 26 fighters were killed, including four Syrians,” the monitor said, adding that the main target of the missile […]

Trump and Macron planted a tree — but where did it go?

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The photograph was seen around the world: US President Donald Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron, gilded spades in hand, shoveling dirt over a young sapling. A week ago, at the beginning of Macron’s visit to Washington, the French president joined his American counterpart to throw handfuls of soil on the roots of a young oak tree as their respective first ladies looked on It was a symbolic gesture: the tree […]

China’s foreign minister to visit N. Korea this week

BEIJING, China (AFP) –Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit North Korea this week, his office said Monday, days after the leaders of the two Koreas held a landmark summit. Wang will be in the neighboring country at the invitation of his North Korean counterpart on Wednesday and Thursday, the foreign ministry said in a brief statement. He will be the first Chinese foreign minister to visit the North since 2007, a lapse that highlights […]