Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
by Catherine TRIOMPHE Agence France Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — More than 100 countries on Monday launched the first United Nations talks aimed at achieving a legally binding ban on nuclear weapons, as Washington led an international boycott of a process it deems unrealistic. Before the conference had even begun, the United States ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, spoke out to reject the proposal in the light of current global security threats. “As […]
by Toh Ting Wei Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) – A Singapore couple who starved their Philippine maid until she weighed just 29 kilograms (64 pounds) were ordered jailed Monday in a case described as “shocking” by prosecutors who vowed to seek stiffer sentences. Trader Lim Choon Hong, 48, was sentenced to three weeks in jail and fined Sg$10,000 ($7,200), while his wife Chong Sui Foon, also 48, was jailed for three months, the couple’s […]
MALÉ, Maldives (AFP) – Security forces physically ejected protesting MPs from the Maldives parliament Monday in chaotic scenes during a failed opposition attempt to impeach the speaker and destabilise the president ahead of elections next year. Lawmakers shouted and stood on their chairs and one tried to remove the speaker’s seat ahead of the impeachment vote, which came a day after exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed announced a unity pact with the president’s powerful half-brother — […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — An avalanche Monday killed seven Japanese high school students and a teacher on a mountain-climbing outing, and injured 40 more. More than 100 troops were deployed in a major rescue mission after the avalanche hit ski slopes in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo. Television footage showed rescuers climbing the mountainside as ambulances stood by. A total of 52 students and 11 teachers from seven high schools were on a three-day mountaineering […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Swiss authorities have opened an investigation into a weekend rally against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which Ankara dubbed a “terrorist gathering,” Switzerland’s ATS news agency reported Monday. During Saturday’s demonstration in the capital Bern, organized by Kurdish groups, some people brandished a banner showing a gun pointing at Erdogan alongside the words “Kill Erdogan.” Turkey summoned the Swiss ambassador on Sunday to protest at the rally, claiming it was organized […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s drug problem is severe and growing, the government said Monday, with particularly sharp rises in the abuse and production of synthetic drugs which have become a major health concern worldwide. Chinese seizures of methamphetamine, ketamine and other synthetic drugs surged by 106 percent year-on-year in 2016, said Liu Yuejin, vice director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission. At the same time the manufacture of drug precursors increased along with […]
QUEENSLAND, Australia (Reuters) –Residents of the town of Airlie Beach in north Queensland, Australia, began filling sand bags on Monday (March 27) in preparation for Cyclone Debbie, forecast to make landfall early the next day. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said the storm will strengthen to a Category Four, with winds forecast to reach up to 300 km per hour (185 mph). State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned it would be the most powerful storm to […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Six high school students were feared dead Monday after they were engulfed by an avalanche while on a mountain-climbing outing, officials and reports said. Local authorities and police confirmed that an avalanche had hit early Monday on the mountain in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo. Public broadcaster NHK reported that six high school students were found with no vital signs. NHK also said that three other students were injured, while three […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump has tapped son-in-law Jared Kushner to lead a new White House office that aims to apply ideas from the business world to help streamline the government, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The White House Office of Innovation is to be unveiled Monday with sweeping authority to overhaul the bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises like reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction, the Post […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Prosecutors in South Korea will seek an arrest warrant for ousted president Park Geun-Hye, they said Monday, days after questioning her over the corruption and abuse of power scandal that brought her down. Park, 65, had her removal from office confirmed by the country’s top court earlier this month, ending her executive immunity. Prosecutors said in a statement they had “concluded that it is in line with the laws and […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was officially welcomed to New Zealand on Monday (March 27) during a traditional ceremony at Wellington’s Government House. Welcomed by New Zealand’s governor-general with a traditional Maori Hongi, or nose rub, Premier Li and his wife Cheng Hong watched a traditional Haka being performed. The Chinese delegation were greeted by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Bill English and his wife Mary English before the Premier inspected the […]
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday it would be “easier” if the EU blocked Ankara’s bid to join the bloc, suggesting he could even hold a referendum on the matter. It was the latest barb in the bitter dispute between Turkey and Europe after Germany and The Netherlands blocked Turkish ministers from campaigning among expats for a “yes” vote in next month’s referendum on boosting Erdogan’s powers. “What? If a […]
