International

Visso residents prepare for night in shelter, three slightly injured in quake says town mayor

Two strong earthquakes rocked a wide area of central Italy on Wednesday (October 26), striking fear among residents rattled by a deadly tremor in August, but there were no reports of casualties. The quakes, which struck about two hours apart, caused the collapse of several old structures, including a number of historic rural churches that were empty at the time. The second quake was measured at 6.0 magnitude by the U.S. Geological Survey and the […]

Top US general visits key hub in fight for Mosul

by Thomas WATKINS QAYYARAH, Iraq (AFP) — A top US Army general on Tuesday flew in to an airbase south of Mosul that will prove vital in Iraqi forces’ offensive on the Islamic State-held city. US Army General Joseph Votel, who heads the military’s Central Command, arrived at the base, which boasts a newly repaired runway, on a cargo plane to see the facility and receive an update on the battle for Mosul, now in […]

Obama to head to Greece, Germany, Peru in mid-November: W. House

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Barack Obama will head to Greece, Germany and Peru next month for what could be his final trip abroad before leaving the White House in January, his office said Tuesday. The November 14-21 trip — which will fall between the November 8 election to choose his successor and Inauguration Day on January 20 — will aim to show Obama’s engagement with both his transatlantic and Asia-Pacific partners. Obama […]

US author Paul Beatty wins Man Booker Prize

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Paul Beatty became the first US author to win the Man Booker Prize — the world’s most prestigious English-language literary award — for his novel “The Sellout” on Tuesday. The jury said the novel was a “shocking and unexpectedly funny” portrayal of his native Los Angeles, which employs satire to explore racial equality in a fictional neighbourhood. “I can’t tell you guys how long a journey this has been for […]

U.N. legal stance on Haiti cholera likely pushed by U.S. – expert

(Reuters) — The United Nations likely refused to accept legal responsibility for a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed thousands in the past six years because it was a position pressed by the United States, an independent U.N. investigator said on Tuesday (October 25). Haiti was free of cholera until 2010, when U.N. peacekeepers dumped infected sewage into a river. Since then, more than 9,000 people have died of the disease, which causes uncontrollable […]

Trump, Clinton blitz battleground Florida

by Robyn BECK with James MANNION in Washington COCONUT CREEK, United States (AFP) — White House rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump staged dueling rallies in the crucial battleground of Florida on Tuesday, blitzing the diverse state as the clock ticks down on the tumultuous presidential race. With two weeks to go before the November 8 election, polls showed Democrat Clinton — who is vying to become America’s first female president — dominating nationally and […]

Spain’s King holds talks with political leaders aimed at a new government

  (Reuters) — King Felipe of Spain on Tuesday (October 25) held a new round of talks with political leaders in an attempt to appoint a candidate to form a government after 10 months of political deadlock following the inconclusive results of two general elections in a year. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who stayed in office as a caretaker without full powers is now finally set to form a full-fledged minority conservative government by next […]

Britain backs Heathrow airport expansion despite splits

  by Ruth Holmes LONDON, United Kingdom | AFP | — The British government approved a new third runway at London’s Heathrow airport on Tuesday in a long-awaited decision that comes amid deep divisions and follows decades of debate over the issue. “The government today announced its support for a new runway at Heathrow — the first full length runway in the southeast since the Second World War,” an official statement said after a cabinet […]

Islamist militants kill 58 in Pakistan police attack

by Maaz Khan QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) — Heavily-armed Islamist militants wearing suicide vests stormed a Pakistani police academy, killing at least 58 people and wounding dozens more, officials said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest extremist attacks this year. Three gunmen from a Pakistani Taliban-linked group burst into the sprawling academy, targeting sleeping quarters that are home to some 700 recruits, sending terrified young men fleeing. “I saw three men in camouflage whose faces were […]

Trump says he’s winning, polls say otherwise

by Michael Mathes, with Nova Safo in Chicago WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump launched their two-week scramble to the finish line of the US presidential race Monday, with the billionaire Republican dismissing the polls to insist he’s “winning” the race. “This is bigger than Brexit, what’s going on,” the 70-year-old Trump told a rowdy rally in Florida, referring to Britain’s shock June vote to leave the European Union. The Democrat […]

Venezuela opposition figure denies talks agreed with govt

  CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — A top Venezuelan opposition leader Monday dismissed the government’s claim that it was ready for talks to settle the country’s political crisis after Pope Francis weighed in on the dispute. Henrique Capriles, a top figure in the opposition MUD coalition, said the announcement of talks was a ploy by President Nicolas Maduro to keep resisting the opposition’s efforts to remove him from power. Vatican envoy Emil Paul Tscherrig said earlier in […]

Pakistan police academy attack ends with 44 killed

by Maaz Khan QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) —  At least 44 people were killed and more than a hundred wounded in an overnight raid by militants on a police academy in southwest Pakistan, officials said Tuesday, after declaring a military counter-operation was finished. The attack on the Balochistan Police College, located 20 kilometres east of provincial capital Quetta, began at around 11:10 pm (1810 GMT) Monday, with gunfire continuing to ring out from the site hours […]