KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) – by Usman SHARIFI At least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded Monday in a Taliban double suicide bombing in central Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. The carnage near the defence ministry came as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide summer offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers on foot blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting […]
International
Syria talks intrude as G20 tackles global economy
by Sarah STEWART HANGZHOU, China (AFP) — G20 leaders met Monday under pressure to reboot the world economy, but a stumbling push for a Syria ceasefire and Asia’s heated territorial disputes intruded on the summit in Hangzhou. There had been hopes of a breakthrough in stemming the Syria conflict after the US said it was close to a deal with Russia. But frantic diplomacy ended in failure, with Moscow accused of backtracking. A US official […]
Obama meets Putin on G20 sidelines: White House
HANGZHOU, China (AFP) — Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met Monday on the margins of the G20 summit in China, the White House said, hours after their diplomats failed to reach a deal on Syria. “The President is taking part in a pull-aside with President Putin of Russia,” said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price. “We expect to provide additional details of their discussion later today.” © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
Philippines worried, says more Chinese boats spotted at disputed shoal
(REUTERS) The Philippines expressed “grave concern” on Sunday and demanded an explanation from China’s ambassador over what it said was an increasing number of Chinese boats near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. A Philippines air force plane flew over the rocky outcrop on Saturday and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana […]
China’s Xi and Japan’s Abe to meet at G20
HANGZHOU, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in China Monday, Tokyo said, their first meeting in more than a year with their nations divided by territorial disputes and recriminations over history. “There are difficult issues between Japan and China, and because of that, it is important that the leaders exchange honest opinions and make improvements,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. The meeting will follow the […]
North Korea fires three ballistic missiles into sea: South Korea
(REUTERS) North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, said South Korea, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North’s main diplomatic ally. The missiles were fired from a western region south of the capital Pyongyang, just after noon local time (0300 GMT), South Korea’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The missile […]
U.S. Coast Guard rescued three men and dog off the coast of Virginia
U.S. Coast Guard rescued three men in a boat (to say nothing of the dog) after the fishermen became disabled off the coast of Wachapreague during impact with Tropical Storm Hermine, Virginia, the Coast Guard said The U.S. Defense Department released a video on Sunday (September 4) showing a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, lifting three fishermen and their dog from a stranded and then […]
South Sudan agrees to more U.N. troops in bid to avoid arms embargo
The government of South Sudan agreed on Sunday (September 4) to accept 4,000 extra peacekeepers in a bid to avoid an arms embargo threatened by the United Nations Security Council, but said the details of the deployment were still being discussed. The announcement came after a meeting in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, between President Salva Kiir and the U.N. Security Council, led by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro said […]
Thousands demonstrate against Brazil’s new president in Sao Paulo
Tens of thousands poured into the streets of Sao Paulo in a massive demonstration against Brazil’s newly installed president, Michel Temer, on Sunday (September 4). More than a half dozen demonstrations against Temer have been held in Brazil’s largest city leading up to and since Brazil’s Senate decision to oust former President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday (August 31), following a months-long impeachment trial. Temer, the former vice president, was officially sworn in as president shortly […]
UN condemns Davao terror blast, expresses support for Phl gov’t
(Eagle News) — The United Nations on Sunday (September 4) condemned the attack carried out by still unidentfied suspects in Davao City, the hometown of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, urging that the perpetrators of this dastardly act be brought to justice. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued the statement on Sunday stressing “the need to ensure accountability and to bring to justice the perpetrators of these terrorist attacks.” He also expressed his deepest […]
Clinton kicks off fall campaign, with press in tow
by Michael Mathes NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton embarks Monday on a campaign swing across battleground states, bringing traveling press aboard her plane for the first time as she seeks to regain momentum against her White House rival Donald Trump. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, will attend events with working families in Cleveland, Ohio and Hampton, Illinois celebrating Labor Day, the US holiday that traditionally kicks off the fall campaign season and the […]
Floods, landslides wreak havoc on Mexico’s Acapulco resort
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AFP) — Floods and landslides caused by a tropical depression have damaged or affected some 70 homes and schools and trapped around 200 people in the Mexican resort town of Acapulco, authorities said Sunday. Torrential rains which began Saturday morning caused 33 rock and landslides on interstate highways and the Ayutla-Cruz Grande federal highway, Guerrero state authorities said. The downpour also caused a road to collapse in central Acapulco, sending two cars falling […]
