SYRIA (AFP) — Syrian air defense shot down missiles over the central province of Homs, the state news agency said Tuesday, with the strikes reportedly targeting regime air bases. The news agency did not give further details and it was unclear who was behind the attack, which Syrian state television branded as an “aggression.” Big explosions were heard near Al Shayrat Airbase, southeast of the city of Homs, and in eastern Qalamoun near Damascus where […]
International
US, Britain warn of Russian campaign to hack networks
by Rosie Scammell Agence France Presse BRITAIN, United Kingdom (AFP) — Russian government-sponsored hackers are compromising the key hardware of government and business computer networks like routers and firewalls, giving them virtual control of data flows, Britain and the United States warned Monday. The operation was “to support espionage, extract intellectual property, maintain persistent access to victim networks and potentially lay a foundation for future offensive operations,” Washington and London said in a joint statement. […]
US, Britain warn of Russian campaign to hack networks
by Rosie Scammell © Agence France-Presse UNITED KINGDOM (AFP) — Russian government-sponsored hackers are compromising the key hardware of government and business computer networks like routers and firewalls, giving them virtual control of data flows, Britain and the United States warned Monday. The operation was “to support espionage, extract intellectual property, maintain persistent access to victim networks and potentially lay a foundation for future offensive operations,” Washington and London said in a joint statement. […]
EU asks WTO for safeguards over US steel, aluminium tariffs
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The European Union on Monday followed China in complaining to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. “Having a substantial interest as an exporter in this case, the European Union requests consultations with the United States” to agree “safeguards,” the EU said in a statement published on the world trade body’s website. US President Donald Trump sparked fears of a trade war in March when […]
G7 calls on Russia to answer for Salisbury nerve agent attack
CANADA (AFP) — Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Monday called on Russia to come clean about a nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain, calling it “a threat to us all.” “We call on Russia to urgently address all questions related to the incident in Salisbury,” they said in a joint statement. The G7 nations urged Russia to provide a “full and complete disclosure of its previously […]
Brazil homeless group occupies apartment in Lula corruption case
GUARUJA, Brazil (AFP) — A group of homelessness activists briefly occupied Monday the seaside apartment at the heart of the corruption case that saw ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva imprisoned earlier this month. About 30 members of the Homeless Workers’ Movement and other leftist activists got into the triplex apartment in Guaruja, near Sao Paulo, hanging placards from the balcony in support of Lula. “Release Lula or there’ll be no peace,” they shouted. Lula […]
S. Korea’s Park will not appeal jail term: reports
South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s disgraced former president Park Geun-hye will not appeal her 24-year prison sentence for corruption, reports said Monday. Park, 66, who was removed from office over a massive corruption scandal last year, was convicted of multiple criminal charges including bribery and abuse of power at a trial earlier this month. She has boycotted all court hearings since October, claiming unfair treatment. On Monday Park submitted an appeal waiver to […]
China launches website to report foreign spies
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has stepped up its campaign against foreign espionage with a website in Mandarin and English encouraging people to report national security threats such as bids to “overthrow the socialist system”. The website, www.12339.gov.cn, launched by the Ministry of National Security on Sunday, also urges anyone to report attempts by Chinese nationals or foreigners to bribe state or military officials, instigate armed riots or incite ethnic separatism. Potential problematic behavior […]
Street side: Indonesia slum kids eye youth ‘World Cup’
by Bagus Saragih © Agence France-Presse INDONESIA (AFP) — Somad rarely ventures beyond his impoverished Jakarta neighbourhood, but the 14-year-old is now gearing for a trip to Russia next month as a player in the 2018 Street Child World Cup. It’s the journey of a lifetime for the aspiring striker and eight other Indonesian kids set to compete against teams of other disadvantaged children from two dozen nations. The event’s third edition in Moscow […]
Chemical inspectors launch probe in Syria after Western strikes
by Rim Haddad with Jean-Marc Mojon in Beirut © Agence France-Presse SYRIA (AFP) — The world’s chemical weapons watchdog is set to convene Monday to discuss the suspected toxic gas assault in Syria that prompted an unprecedented wave of Western strikes, as its inspectors probe the attack near Damascus. As the on-the-ground investigation gets under way, the fallout from the US-led response continued to reverberate, with French President Emmanuel Macron claiming to have persuaded President […]
Large bushfire burns near homes on Sydney outskirts
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters were Monday battling a large bushfire that was raging near Sydney suburbs, with authorities saying it was “miraculous” no houses had been damaged and no-one had been injured. New South Wales state police are investigating the cause of the bushfire in south-western Sydney, which started on Saturday afternoon amid unseasonably warm autumn weather and strong winds, with suspicions it was deliberately lit. The blaze has burnt through more than […]
US mission in Syria ‘has not changed,’ forces to return as soon as possible: WH
UNITED STATES (AFP) — American objectives in Syria have not altered, the White House said Sunday, reiterating that President Donald Trump wants US troops home “as quickly as possible.” “The US mission has not changed — the President has been clear that he wants US forces to come home as quickly as possible,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “We are determined to completely crush ISIS and create the conditions that will […]





