International

Is it a drone? Is it a balloon? No, it’s a bird, says North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – North Korea on Thursday accused the South of unleashing more than 450 machine gun rounds at a flock of birds in an “armed provocation” at the tense Demilitarized Zone, after Seoul’s forces fired warning shots at an object flying over the border. Seoul military officials initially suggested the item was a drone from North following the incident on Tuesday, before saying Wednesday that balloons carrying propaganda leaflets had blown in […]

US warship sails near South China Sea reef claimed by Beijing

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – A United States warship sailed near a reef claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea on Thursday, a US official said, the first such operation by US President Donald Trump’s administration in the disputed waterway. The USS Dewey sailed “less than 12 nautical miles” from Mischief Reef — part of the Spratly Islands — early Thursday morning local time, the official said on condition of anonymity. The guided-missile destroyer’s […]

WHO exclusion of Taiwan from WHA justifiable: Chinese mainland spokesperson

BEIJING, China (Reuters) – It is justified for the World Health Organization (WHO) to not invite Taiwan to the ongoing 70th World Health Assembly (WHA), said a spokesperson for China’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing on Thursday. An Fengshan made the remarks at a routine press briefing when asked about WHO’s exclusion of Taiwan from the WHA. “The international community recognizes the one-China principle universally. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2758 and […]

Manchester terror attack probe widens as US leaks grate

by Rosie Scammell Agence France Presse MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain raced Thursday to track down a jihadist network suspected of orchestrating the Manchester concert attack, while a row escalated between London and Washington over leaked material from the probe. As more children were named among the 22 victims of Monday’s massacre, the suicide bomber’s father and brother were arrested in Libya and police in Britain made new arrests. However, British authorities were left […]

Residents take shelter as gunfight continues in southern Philippines

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Residents took shelter at makeshift evacuation centers in the southern Philippines on Thursday (May 25), as government troops continued their assault against Islamic militants. The Islamic State-linked Maute group occupied parts of the southern city of Marawi on Tuesday (May 23), prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in the entire Mindanao island. Thirteen militants and seven members of the security forces have so far been killed and 33 […]

Chinese Go master loses first game with Google’s AlphaGo

WUZHEN, China (Reuters) — A Google artificial intelligence program defeated a Chinese grand master at the ancient board game Go on Tuesday (May 23), a major feather in the cap for the firm’s AI ambitions. In the first of three planned games in the eastern water town of Wuzhen, the AlphaGo program held off China’s world number one Ke Jie in front of Chinese officials and Google parent Alphabet’s chief executive Eric Schmidt. The victory […]

Japan looks to discuss North Korean issue and terrorism at G7

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday (May 25) that he expected the North Korean missile threat and the bombing in Manchester to head the agenda at the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in Italy. Over the last two weeks North Korea successively launched two missiles, which are believed to be a significant advance in its technologies and drive for an intercontinental ballistic missile. At least 22 people were killed by […]

US Navy ship sails near South China Sea reef claimed by Beijing: US official

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US Navy ship has sailed in disputed South China Sea waters near a reef claimed by Beijing in the first “freedom of navigation” exercise under President Donald Trump, a US official said. The USS Dewey sailed “less than 12 nautical miles” from Mischief Reef — part of the Spratly Islands — early Thursday morning local time, the official said. The exercise is likely to provoke anger from Beijing as the […]

Manchester bomber’s father certain son did not carry out attack

TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) – The father of the bomber who killed 22 concert-goers in an attack in Manchester told Reuters in the Libyan capital on Wednesday (May 24) that he had last spoken to his son some five days ago, by phone, and that “everything was normal.” Ramadan Abedi, who was detained by a Tripoli counter-terrorism force during the interview, said his son Salman had told his family that he was heading on pilgrimage to […]

Estimated 23 million would lose health insurance under Republican bill -CBO

WASHINGTON, United States (Reuters) — An estimated 23 million people would lose health coverage by 2026 under Republican legislation aimed at repealing Obamacare, a nonpartisan congressional agency said on Wednesday (May 24), in the first calculation of the new bill’s potential impact. The report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also said federal deficits would fall by $119 billion between 2017 and 2026 under the bill, which was approved this month by the Republican-dominated House […]

Manchester terror attack: The victims

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — Twenty-two people were killed in Monday’s suicide attack on a Manchester pop concert, including an eight-year-old girl, teenagers and several parents who had come to collect their children. Here are the victims named so far in what was the deadliest terror attack in Britain since the 2005 London bombings: ‘Beautiful little girl’ Eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos from Leyland in Lancashire, northwest England, is the youngest victim among those named so […]

Brazil’s Temer orders troops in after protesters trash ministries

by Carola Sole / Damian Wroclavsky Agence France Presse BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian soldiers were deployed Wednesday to defend government buildings in the capital Brasilia after protesters demanding the exit of President Michel Temer smashed their way into ministries and fought with riot police. “At this moment, federal troops are already here in (the foreign ministry),” Defense Minister Raul Jungmann said in a brief televised statement. “And next there are troops arriving to secure all the […]