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BEIJING, China (AFP) – At least 10,000 people were killed in the Chinese army’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in June 1989, according to a newly released British secret diplomatic cable that gives gruesome details of the bloodshed in Beijing. “Minimum estimate of civilian dead 10,000,” the then British ambassador Alan Donald said in a telegram to London. The document, made public more than 28 years after the event, was seen by AFP at Britain’s […]
by Park Chan-Kyong Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Flammable materials on the outside of a South Korean building fueled a major blaze that killed 29 people, experts said Friday, evoking comparisons with the Grenfell Tower disaster in London. The fire engulfed an eight-storey tower in the southern city of Jecheon, killing 29 people and injuring 29 more. 20 of the dead were found at a female sauna and others elsewhere in the building, […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — A man who mowed down pedestrians with his car in Melbourne attributed his actions to “perceived mistreatment of Muslims,” Australia said Friday, with nine foreigners among the injured. Nineteen people were rushed to the hospital, and three remain critical, after the Australian-Afghan driver ploughed through a busy downtown intersection on Thursday in what authorities said was a “deliberate act.” The 32-year-old, who came to Australia as a refugee, has a history […]
WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May was left smirking at a press conference with her Polish counterpart on Thursday after a translator accidentally called her “Madam Brexit.” May was in Warsaw for talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, with the discussions inevitably turning to Britain’s 2019 departure from the European Union. Part of Morawiecki’s opening speech was translated as: “It’s very important for us that this cooperation, even though it will be […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said from self-imposed exile in Belgium that it was indisputable that separatists had won Thursday’s key regional vote. “This is a result which no one can dispute,” Puigdemont told supporters in Brussels as partial results showed that pro-independence parties were on course for an absolute majority. “I think we have earned our right to be listened to.” As loyalists shouted “president, president,” Puigdemont also lashed out […]
by Carole Landry Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council will vote Friday on a US-drafted resolution ramping up sanctions on North Korea by restricting oil supplies vital for Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear programs. The United States has been in negotiations with China, Pyongyang’s ally, on slapping new sanctions in response to the November 28 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The vote is scheduled for 1:00 pm […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — At least 29 people were killed and 26 injured Thursday in a major blaze at a fitness center building in the South Korean city of Jecheon, officials said, in one of the country’s deadliest fire disasters. The fire broke out around 4:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT) and quickly engulfed the entire eight-storey building, leaving many trapped inside. Twenty victims were found at a public sauna and others elsewhere in […]
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalan separatist parties looked set to win back their absolute majority in a crucial vote Thursday, though anti-independence Ciudadanos had scored the best individual result, a partial count showed. Together, the pro-independence Together for Catalonia, leftist ERC and radical left CUP parties were on course to take 70 seats — an absolute majority in a 135-seat parliament. Those results at 2120 GMT were based on a count of just over 65 percent of […]
by Carole Landry Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Defying President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off funding, the United Nations approved by a resounding vote on Thursday a motion rejecting the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The 193-member General Assembly adopted the resolution by 128 to nine with 35 abstentions, in what Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour called a “massive setback” for the United States. An additional 21 countries did not turn […]
JERUSALEM, Israel (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed the United Nations a “house of lies” on Thursday, ahead of a General Assembly vote on a resolution rejecting US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “The State of Israel rejects outright this vote, even before it passes,” he said at a ceremony in southern Israel. “The attitude to Israel of many nations in the world, in all the continents, is changing outside of the UN […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A pregnant woman died and nearly 100 people were injured as a 5.2-magnitude earthquake sparked panic in the Iranian capital and neighboring areas late on Wednesday, officials said. The epicenter of the quake, which struck shortly before 11:30 pm (2000 GMT), was just 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the capital, according to the seismological center of the University of Tehran. The woman died as she ran out of her home […]
by Tania Lee Agence France Presse MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — A car ploughed into a crowd in Australia’s second-largest city on Thursday in what police said was a “deliberate act” that left more than a dozen people injured, some of them seriously. Witnesses said people were thrown through the air after being hit by the vehicle, which did not appear to be trying to stop as it “mowed everybody down.” Victoria state police said they […]
