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by Jennie Matthew Agence France Presse WINNIE, United States (AFP) — When flood waters first seeped into their house, grandparents Bernard and Annie Redeo weren’t too worried. But when it rose a foot deep, they made a run for it: fleeing in the pitch-black to neighbors. They found refuge with a single mom of two. It was 5 am, still dark outside and torrential rain was hammering the small farming town of Winnie, Texas […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Nuclear-armed North Korea has warned Tokyo against “imminent self-destruction” for siding with Washington, as tensions soar after Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan. The North set off global alarm Tuesday when it fired an intermediate-range missile over the Asian island nation, triggering condemnation from world leaders including the US and Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denounced the launch as an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat” and agreed with […]
HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) — Tropical Storm Harvey slogged across southeastern Texas and into Louisiana on Wednesday (August 30), sending more people fleeing for shelter after hitting the United States energy hub of Houston with record rains and flooding that drove tens of thousands from their homes. The slow-moving storm has killed at least 22 people and sent more than 32,000 to shelters since coming ashore on Friday near Corpus Christi, Texas, as the most powerful […]
KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) — British Prime Minister Theresa May and her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe boarded a Shinkansen ‘Bullet Train’ from Kyoto to the capital Tokyo on Wednesday (August 30), during May’s visit to the country for trade talks. On Wednesday, May said that Britain is looking at ways to replicate the trade deals that the European Union has with countries outside the bloc when it exits the EU in March 2019. The freedom to […]
BUTTE COUNTY, California (Reuters) — Authorities have arrested a 29-year-old man for causing a fast-moving wildfire that has destroyed 10 homes and forced the evacuation of some residents in Northern California, fire officials said on Wednesday (August 30). John Ballenger of the town of Oroville is accused of “recklessly” starting a campfire outside a designated area and allowing it to spread out of control, Cal Fire Butte County Chief Darren Read said in a statement. […]
LAGOS, Nigeria (AFP) – Britain will give Nigeria aid worth £200 million over five years to help it cope with the brutal insurgency being waged by Boko Haram jihadists, the foreign ministry in London said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson visited Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s northeast Borno State and epicenter of the Boko Haram organization, to meet some of those involved in the fight. The Islamist militant group has increasingly used child suicide bombers […]
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – Monster storm Harvey hit the south Texas coast late Friday and then stalled, gushing torrents of rain over Houston, the country’s fourth largest city with six million people in the greater metropolitan area. The storm continues to pour rain as it heads slowly through neighboring Louisiana. How much rain? Up to 52 inches (132 centimeters) of rain fell from Saturday through Wednesday morning in parts of coastal Texas, and more […]
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – The operators of a flooded chemical plant outside Houston warned Wednesday they are dealing with a “critical issue” triggered by Harvey’s torrential rains and have no means to prevent a possible explosion at the site. As a precautionary measure officials had already ordered the evacuation of an area within 1.5 miles (three km) of the organic peroxides plant in Harris County, which is owned by French group Arkema. Rich Rowe, […]
BUCHAREST, Romania (AFP) – Romania’s bid to overhaul its justice system could undermine the country’s efforts to stamp out rampant corruption, the European Commission’s representative in Bucharest said Wednesday. The reforms set out by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader last week would mean the president could no longer name senior prosecutors — including those attached to the anti-corruption directorate (DNA). They would also reduce the powers of the DNA itself, preventing it from investigating magistrates. “We are […]
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Authorities said Wednesday that 33 people are believed to have died directly or indirectly as a result of the punishing winds and heavy rain unleashed by Harvey on the Texas coast. Ten people have been confirmed dead in several counties in Southeast Texas, with “23 additional deaths potentially Harvey-related,” according to Tricia Bentley of the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office. Officials fear the death toll could rise further as floodwaters […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said Wednesday that there was still room for diplomacy in dealing with North Korea’s provocative ballistic missile launches, after President Donald Trump said negotiations were “not the answer.” “We’re never out of diplomatic solutions,” Mattis said as he went into a meeting with South Korea Defense Minister Song Young-Moo. “We continue to work together and the minister and I share responsibility to provide for […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China is working with other members of the United Nations Security Council on a response to North Korea’s missile launch over Japan, the Chinese foreign minister said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke hours after the UN Security Council unanimously condemned Tuesday’s test and Japan’s UN ambassador suggested that a new sanctions declaration could come next. Wang said China — which is Pyongyang’s only major ally — was “now working with […]
