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by Michelle Yun and Paul Yang in Hualien with Amber Wang in Taipei Agence France Presse HUALIEN, Taiwan (AFP) — Rescue workers scrambled to search for survivors in buildings left tilting precariously on their foundations in the Taiwanese city of Hualien Wednesday, after an overnight earthquake killed four and injured more than 200. Authorities said they could not verify how many residents were still missing after the 6.4-magnitude quake which hit the popular tourist […]
MALE, Maldives (AFP) — A decade after he swept to power in the Maldives’ first democratic elections, exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed is again pushing for change — by force if necessary — as his island homeland spirals into crisis. Nasheed made history in 2008 when he defeated Maumoon Abdul Gayoom — then Asia’s longest-serving leader — after three decades of unchallenged rule. In the years that followed, the charismatic young president won international renown […]
by Amber WANG / Michelle YUN / Paul Yang Agence France-Presse HUALIEN, Taiwan (AFP) — Rescue workers in the Taiwanese city of Hualien searched for survivors in buildings left tilting on their foundations Wednesday, after an earthquake that killed two and injured more than 200. Authorities said they could not verify how many residents were still missing after the 6.4-magnitude quake which hit the eastern port city late Tuesday, taking out the lower storeys of […]
by Michael Mathes and Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US congressional leaders said Tuesday they were close to clinching an elusive budget deal that would keep government open — despite President Donald Trump calling for a shutdown if he does not get his way on immigration. The Senate’s top Republican and Democrat signaled a deal was imminent that would raise both defense and non-defense spending maximum levels for the next […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A hotel on the east coast of Taiwan has collapsed after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake, the national fire agency said, with reports that several other buildings have been toppled with some people trapped. Images on local television showed the Marshal Hotel in Hualien slanted on its side, partially crumpled into the ground. Media reports said there were 30 people trapped inside with others crawling to safety. The fire agency said a […]
by Mary Sibierski © Agence France-Presse VARSOVIE, Poland (AFP) — President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday signed into law a controversial Holocaust bill intended to safeguard Poland’s image abroad but which has instead triggered an unprecedented diplomatic row with Israel and tensions with the US and Ukraine. Duda also said he would send the legislation, which now comes into force, to the Constitutional Tribunal to rule on whether it conforms with guarantees for freedom of speech. The law sets […]
BRUXELLES, Belgium (AFP) — The European Union will be able to punish Britain for breaking the rules of its post-Brexit transition period under plans agreed by Brussels on Tuesday, EU sources said. Under plans for the 21-month transition after Britain leaves the bloc on March 29, 2019, London must abide by all EU laws without having any decision-making power — turning the country into what critics call a “vassal state”. The latest EU draft of the transition […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The Eiffel Tower turned away tourists on Tuesday as snow swept across northern France, causing traffic chaos in Paris during the French capital’s first real dose of wintry weather this season. The Meteo France weather service put the greater Paris region on alert for snow and black ice on roads, among 27 departments it expected to be on alert across the country until midday Wednesday. The weather caused major gridlock across the city, […]
by Amber Wang / Michelle Yun © Agence France-Presse TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A 6.4-magnitude quake on the east coast of Taiwan has left two dead and more than 200 injured, the government said, after buildings crumbled and trapped people inside. A hotel and a residential block were the worst hit by the quake in the port city of Hualien, according to the national fire agency. Five more buildings including a hospital had also been damaged, […]
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Boeing said Tuesday its global services unit has signed deals worth nearly $1 billion at the Singapore Airshow in areas like parts, maintenance, modification and training. The deals underscore the growing importance of the huge commercial aviation market in the Asia-Pacific region. “Boeing is serious about helping customers optimise the performance of their fleets and reduce operational costs,” said Stan Deal, president and chief executive of Boeing Global Services. Among the […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Joshua Wong and two other leading Hong Kong democracy activists won an appeal against their jail terms at the city’s highest court Tuesday in a case seen as a test for the independence of the city’s judiciary, which some fear is under pressure from Beijing. But the trio warned it was not a time for celebration because the city still faced threats to its freedoms. Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow […]
by Deborah COLE and Michelle FITZPATRICK in Frankfurt Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was prepared to make “painful compromises” as she headed in a final round of talks Tuesday to seal a coalition deal for her fourth term and end months of political limbo in Europe’s top economy. As negotiators from Merkel’s CDU party, her Bavarian CSU ally and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) gathered for one last push to […]
