Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Fifty-two people were killed Thursday when the bus they were traveling on caught fire in Kazakhstan, the central Asian nation’s emergency services ministry said in a statement. “On January 18 at 10:30 am (0430 GMT), a bus caught fire … 55 passengers and two drivers were on board. Five people who managed to escape are receiving medical assistance. The rest died on the spot,” the ministry said, without elaborating on the […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is preparing a lavish display of its military strength in a parade on the eve of next month’s Winter Olympics in the South, despite a rare sporting detente with Seoul, it was reported Thursday. Pyongyang, which has rattled the international community with its nuclear and missile tests in recent months, has agreed to send athletes to the Games and march with the South under one flag at the […]
by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — With barely two days before the US government runs out of money, and President Donald Trump feuding with Democrats over immigration, Republican congressional leaders scrambled Wednesday to avoid an embarrassing federal shutdown. A bipartisan deal on immigration that would shield some 700,000 people from deportation lay in tatters after the president’s reported use of vulgar language during a tense White House meeting last week […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused Russia of undermining international sanctions against North Korea and weakening efforts to curb Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear weapons program. “Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea,” Trump told the Reuters news agency. “What China is helping us with, Russia is denting.” Last month, Trump had already denounced Russia for “not helping” global efforts to pressure Pyongyang to halt the development of nuclear weapons […]
by Emma Charlton Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – A maverick senator from Donald Trump’s own Republican party launched a stinging attack on the president on Wednesday, accusing him of employing Stalinist language to “slur” and undermine the free press. Arizona lawmaker Jeff Flake leveled the broadside in an address from the Senate floor, timed to coincide with the expected announcement of controversial “Fake News Awards” by Trump’s administration. Delivering a one-two punch after veteran Republican […]
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) – Budget carriers continued to push global air traffic to new record levels last year, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said on Wednesday. Scheduled air services carried “a new record” of 4.1 billion passengers in 2017, an increase of 7.1 percent over the previous year, ICAO said, citing preliminary data. The figure compares with six percent growth in 2016. “The sustainability of the tremendous growth in international civil air traffic is demonstrated by […]
by Thomas Watkins Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military wants to overhaul its atomic arsenal and develop a new type of low-yield weapon that experts worry could lead to greater proliferation and heighten the risk of nuclear war. The proposed changes to the nuclear weapons program, outlined in a draft version of the Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review, mark a significant break from the vision for America’s nuclear future under Barack Obama, who during a famous […]
by Carole Landry Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – Greece and Macedonia return to the United Nations on Wednesday seeking to end a 27-year dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name, with hopes of a compromise after a change of government in Skopje. Greece’s objections to the use of the name Macedonia since the Balkan country’s independence in 1991 has hampered the tiny nation’s bid to join the European Union and NATO. UN envoy Matthew […]
LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AFP) – Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has rejected opposition claims that one of its activists died in custody after being tortured, and that some 200 of their number are under arrest. In an interview late Tuesday with French radio station RFI and France 24 television, Africa’s longest-serving president confirmed the death in custody of an opposition activist but put it down to ill health. “I think there are about 20 people” currently under […]
by Daniel Bosque with Michaela Cancela-Kieffer in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain – Catalonia’s parliament met Wednesday for the first time since it was dissolved following a failed bid to break from Spain in a session that will see separatists start the process to get sacked regional leader Carles Puigdemont back into power. Pro-independence parties are in the majority after winning regional elections on December 21 called by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to try and put […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – Former South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak on Wednesday denounced as “political revenge” a corruption probe into allegations his office accepted bribes from the country’s spy agency. The rare statement from conservative Lee, who stepped down in 2013, came after two of his closest aides were arrested and as his impeached ally and successor Park Geun-Hye stands trial for corruption. South Korean presidents have a tendency to end up in prison — or […]
LAVAL, France (AFP) – French police raided the headquarters of dairy giant Lactalis on Wednesday over a baby milk salmonella scare that has sickened dozens of children and led to a major international recall. Dozens of police were searching the company’s offices in Laval, western France, as well as its factory in nearby Craon which was the source of the tainted milk. Lactalis has recalled baby milk from 83 countries, with anger growing after it emerged […]
