International

Bangladesh demands return of stolen bank funds from Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines must immediately return millions of dollars recovered from a high-profile hacking theft, Bangladesh’s ambassador said Thursday in Manila, but Filipino officials warned resolving the embarrassing case could take months. On February 5, unidentified hackers shifted $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank’s account with the US Federal Reserve to a nondescript bank in Manila, from where it was funnelled into local casinos. Filipino authorities now say they have tracked […]

India’s ruling party claims first northeastern state

NEW DELHI , India (AFP) — India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party claimed victory in Assam elections Thursday, marking the first time the Hindu nationalist party has won control of a state in the country’s restive northeast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was a historic victory and promised to “fulfil the dreams and aspirations” of people in Assam, where ethnic and religious tensions and a myriad of rebel insurgencies have held back development. The win […]

Egypt says exchanged ‘condolences’ with France over EgyptAir flight

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — The French and Egyptian foreign ministers exchanged “condolences” over an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo that is feared to have gone down in the Mediterranean on Thursday, Egypt said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault “expressed condolences over the plane incident involving the EgyptAir airplane that went down, and Shoukry in turn expressed condolences for the French casualties who were on board the plane,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said. se/kir © […]

Wives spearhead INC evangelical mission in Toronto, Canada

TORONTO, Canada (Eagle News) — The Iglesia Ni Cristo sponsored for the first time — the FYM ministers’ wives volunteer international in the district of eastern Canada, at the Toronto house of worship. The ministers’ and volunteers’ wives worked together to get their friends and families to listen to the teachings taught inside the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

French PM says ‘no theory can be ruled out’ on missing EgyptAir flight

PARIS , France (AFP) — France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Thursday “no theory can be ruled out” in the missing EgyptAir flight which disappeared en route to Cairo from Paris. “No theory can be ruled out on the cause of this disappearance,” said Valls, speaking after the plane vanished from radar over the Mediterranean with 66 people on board. French President Francois Hollande and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have “agreed to cooperate […]

US center gifts atomic bomb images to Hiroshima museum

by Thomas WATKINS WASHINGTON , United States (AFP) — Days after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an Army leader briefed a group of top government officials at the Department of War in Washington. The officer, Major General Leslie Groves, carried with him a bundle of photos that may have shocked even those war-hardened men. In fine resolution, the black-and-white pictures depicted the two mushroom clouds that defined the course of […]

30 Egyptians, 15 French among passengers on vanished flight: EgyptAi

CAIRO , Egypt (AFP) — An EgyptAir flight that vanished over the Mediterranean on Thursday was carrying 30 Egyptian and 15 French passengers, as well as a Briton and a Canadian, the airline said. An Algerian, a Belgian, a Chadian, two Iraqis, a Kuwaiti, a Portuguese, a Saudi and a Sudanese were also on board the flight, EgyptAir said in a statement. se/kir © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

Egypt, Greece mount maritime search for vanished flight

CAIRO , Egypt (AFP) — The Egyptian military deployed search aircraft and naval vessels to locate an EgyptAir flight with 66 people on board that vanished over the Mediterranean on Thursday, the army said. Greece was also participating in the search for the Airbus A320 that lost radar contact after entering Egyptian airspace en route from Paris, it added. se/kir © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

Environmentalists protest ahead of G7 meeting in Japan

Environmental and human rights groups gathered in front of the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo on Thursday (May 19), demanding that Japan stop investing in fossil fuels industries. The protest takes place a day before Group of Seven (G7) meetings of finance ministers and central bankers in Sendai from May 20-21. Fifteen demonstrators from Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam demanded that the G7 finance meeting will discuss stopping investment of future fossil fuel and nuclear projects, […]

EgyptAir says flight from Paris to Cairo missing

  (REUTERS) National carrier EgyptAir said a plane carrying 69 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo had gone missing on Thursday, disappearing from radar over the Mediterranean Sea. “An official source at EgyptAir stated that Flight MS804, which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST), heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar,” the airline said on its official Twitter account. Later Tweets by EgyptAir said the plane, which was traveling at an altitude […]

EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo disappears from radar: airline

CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 69 people on board has vanished from radar, the airline said on its verified Twitter feed Thursday. A tweet on the airline’s official account said flight MS804 left Paris at 23:09 pm local time (2109 GMT), “heading to Cairo (and) has disappeared from radar”. Further tweets in Arabic said contact was lost at 02:45 Cairo time (0045 GMT), when the plane was just […]

Canada fire evacuees to get tentative return date, output still hampered

Evacuees who fled a wildfire in northern Alberta two weeks ago will learned on Wednesday (May 18) they may be allowed to return home in coming weeks, as the blaze continued to shutter oil production north of Fort McMurray. More than 90,000 evacuated from Fort McMurray and the surrounding area on May 3 and 4 as a huge wildfire hit the city in the heart of Canada’s oil sands region, destroying entire neighborhoods. Premier Rachel […]