International

Irma now whipping Florida; NHC warns of “life-threatening” winds, storm surges, floods

  (Eagle News) – Hurricane Irma — which has already killed 24 people in the Caribbean region — is now bearing down on Florida as the northern eyewall of this monstrous Category 4 hurricane is now affecting the Lower Florida Keys as of 7 a.m. EDT (7 p.m. Philippine time) on Sunday, Sept. 10, according to the latest update from the US’ National Hurricane Center (NHC). “NORTHERN EYEWALL OF IRMA REACHES THE LOWER FLORIDA KEYS… […]

N. Korea’s ‘global threat’ requires global response: NATO chief

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday that North Korea’s nuclear and missile program represented a “global threat and requires a global response.” In an interview with the BBC, he also refused to say whether an attack on the Pacific US territory of Guam would trigger the military alliance’s collective defense clause. “The reckless behavior of North Korea is a global threat and requires a global response, […]

Irma strengthens to Category 4 Hurricane as it nears Florida Keys: NHC

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Hurricane Irma strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it closed in on the island chain known as the Florida Keys, the US National Hurricane Center said early Sunday. The storm was churning about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south-southeast of Key West, menacing Florida with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. Its eye was expected to cross the Lower Florida Keys within hours before moving “near or along” […]

Irma weakens to Category 4 hurricane as it heads for Florida

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Hurricane Irma weakened slightly to a Category 4 storm early Saturday, according to the US National Hurricane Center, after making landfall hours earlier in Cuba with maximum-strength Category 5 winds. The fierce storm was zeroing in on Florida, churning some 245 miles (395 kilometers) away from Miami and packing still powerful maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour. “Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or two, […]

5.6 million Floridians ordered to evacuate as Irma closes in: emergency officials

MIAMI, Florida (AFP) — Florida has ordered 5.6 million people to evacuate as massive Hurricane Irma menaces the southeastern US state, according to its Division of Emergency Management. Irma regained strength as a Category 5 storm late Friday as it made landfall on the Camaguey Archipelago of Cuba, and is now swirling about 275 miles (440 kilometers) away from Miami packing maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. Irma is expected to strike the […]

Canada, EU, China to co-host September climate meeting

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — Environmental ministers representing Canada, China and the European Union will co-host a meeting in Montreal later this month to move forward with the implementation of the Paris climate change agreement. The ministerial meeting will include representatives from some 30 countries, according to Canada’s minister of environment and climate change, Catherine McKenna. “This meeting brings together major economies and key climate actors to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement and demonstrate […]

Pensacola residents recall horror of 2004 hurricane Ivan, prepare for Irma’s wrath

  By Tracy Nguyen (EBC Florida) Eagle News Service PENSACOLA, Florida (Eagle News) — Almost 13 years after the devastation that Hurricane Ivan, residents of Pensacola, Florida take no chances with Hurricane Irma. Even before knowing the trajectory of Hurricane Irma, Pensacola locals began preparing by buying water, food and gasoline. Within hours, stores all around Pensacola had sold out on all of their emergency supplies. On September 13, 2004 Hurricane Ivan brought destruction to […]

Hurricane Irma makes landfall in Cuba as massive storm: US forecasters

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Hurricane Irma made landfall as a maximum-strength Category Five storm late Friday, US forecasters said, after leaving a trail of death and destruction on a string of Caribbean islands. At 0300 GMT, the monster storm had made landfall on the communist island’s Camaguey Archipelago, with the eye of the storm just 190 kilometers (120 miles) east-southeast of the Cuban city of Caibarien, and 300 miles south-southeast of Miami, according to the […]

Expelled ambassador says North Korea-US tensions not Mexico’s business

  (Reuters) — North Korea’s ambassador to Mexico on Friday (September 08) said its tensions with the US were not Mexico City’s business, after President Enrique Pena Nieto ordered he leave the country in protest at Pyongyang’s nuclear tests. In a statement, the Mexican government said it had given Ambassador Kim Hyong Gil 72 hours to leave Mexico in order to express its “absolute rejection” of North Korea’s recent nuclear activity, describing it as a […]

Qatar ruler phones Saudi crown prince about starting talks: state media

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Qatar’s ruler phoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks to resolve a three-month-old diplomatic crisis, Saudi state media said early Saturday. The crown prince “welcomed this desire,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, adding “details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE and Bahrain and Egypt”, the Arab bloc that cut ties with Qatar in June. The phone call by Qatar’s […]

Florida mass exodus as Hurricane Irma closes in

https://youtu.be/alWHUpfFfSs     MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Florida’s highways were jammed Friday with families fleeing their homes as Hurricane Irma honed in on the Sunshine State after reducing island resorts to rubble and killing at least 17 people across the Caribbean. Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked north out of the peninsula, with mattresses, gas cans, mattresses and kayaks strapped to car roofs, as residents heeded increasingly insistent warnings to get out and Florida’s governor said all […]

Watch: Florida residents get into shelters ahead of hurricane Irma

https://youtu.be/ZrTKzSlz4k8   Hundreds of people find shelter in the state of Florida, as Governor Rick Scott warns that all of the state’s 20 million inhabitants should be prepared to evacuate as Hurricane Irma bears down for a direct hit on the southern US state. Charley Rossy, one of those who decided to evacuate to a shelter, said: “This is huge, so it got to the point where it’s a big storm, you are going to […]