International

PNG leader O’Neill tackles corruption, unrest

by Martin PARRY SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, whose police opened fire on demonstrating students this week, has been grappling with a developing country once labelled “a dysfunctional blob” ever since he grabbed power in a messy struggle five years ago. One of his first acts after being sworn in as leader in 2012 was to form an anti-corruption task force to win the confidence of potential foreign investors, […]

Mexico backs India’s nuclear suppliers group bid

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto backed India’s bid to join a nuclear trade group as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Latin American nation on Wednesday. Pena Nieto said Mexico, which is a member of the 48-nation NSG, will give its “positive and constructive support” to India as he praised Modi’s “commitment” to the international nuclear non-proliferation agenda. Modi, in the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Mexico […]

Bullets hit bystanders as Australia police shoot knifeman

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Three elderly bystanders were wounded Thursday when Australian police opened fire on a man wielding a large carving knife in a busy Sydney shopping center, authorities said. The incident unfolded at the Hornsby Organic Food Markets in the city’s north with police confronting the man, reported missing from a psychiatric centre, after being alerted by staff. Witnesses said two officers asked him to drop the knife and when he failed to […]

Fast-moving Arizona wildfire forces evacuations

ARIZONA, United States (Reuters) — A raging fire broke out on Wednesday (June 8) near Yarnell, Arizona, forcing the evacuation of several homes, according to local media. Several residents reportedly had to leave their homes after the wildfire grew to 400 acres on the north side of Yarnell. Firefighters were called in to battle the so-called Tenderfoot Fire on the ground and in the air as the blaze roared through grass and brush. There was […]

Obama hopeful Sanders will wind up campaign within a ‘couple of weeks’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Barack Obama expressed hope Wednesday that Bernie Sanders in “the next couple of weeks” will finally concede having lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Hillary Clinton, despite having vowed to fight on through the party’s convention next month. Appearing Wednesday on the “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” Obama said that on balance, Sanders’s candidacy in the hardfought Democratic campaign was a positive. “It was a healthy thing for the Democratic […]

Prince Philip, the ‘strength’ behind Britain’s throne

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Prince Philip, who turns 95 on Friday, has been Queen Elizabeth II’s constant companion for almost 70 years, offending and amusing in equal measure with his salty off-the-cuff comments and gaffes. Known formally as the Duke of Edinburgh, the prince is a supporter of numerous charities and has been a reassuring presence at Elizabeth’s side. A self-described “cantankerous old sod”, Philip’s unvarnished humour endears him to some but often […]

Four killed in shooting at Tel Aviv nightspot

by Jack Guez TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Two Palestinians opened fire at a popular Tel Aviv nightspot near Israel’s military headquarters on Wednesday, killing four people in one of the worst attacks in a months-long wave of violence. The shooting spread panic, and video posted on social media showed a uniformed officer firing a handgun, though his target could not be seen. Police said one of the attackers was arrested, while the other was […]

Japan protests as Chinese navy sails near disputed isles

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Chinese naval ship sailed into waters surrounding disputed East China Sea islands for the first time early Thursday, prompting Tokyo to summon the Chinese ambassador to protest, the Japanese government said. Russian naval ships were also seen in the area around the same time, according to local media. “Around 00:50 am (1530 GMT Wednesday), a Chinese naval vessel entered our nation’s contiguous waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands,” the Japanese foreign […]

Liberia Ebola outbreak to be declared over

MONROVIA, Liberia (AFP)–The latest Ebola outbreak in Liberia, the last country still affected by the deadliest flare-up in the history of the feared tropical virus, is to be declared over on Thursday. Liberia will have passed the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold of 42 days — twice the incubation period for the virus — since the last known patient tested negative for the second time. The Ebola epidemic began in Guinea in December 2013 and killed […]

Huge sinkhole opens in heart of Canada capital

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A massive sinkhole opened up Wednesday on a busy road in the heart of Ottawa, forcing the evacuation of a nearby hotel, convention center and major shopping center in the Canadian capital city. No injuries were reported but a parked van and a lamp post were swallowed up as the hole quickly grew in size, stretching the width of the four-lane road. Authorities pointed to a watermain break as the likely […]

China blasts ‘unilateral’ Philippine move ahead of ruling

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China accused the Philippines Wednesday of ignoring requests for dialogue about their maritime dispute, as tensions rise before an international tribunal’s ruling on the territorial row. The Philippines has “unilaterally closed the door of settling the South China Sea issue with China through negotiation”, China’s foreign ministry said in a lengthy statement published by the official Xinhua news agency. The statement came a day after the end of an annual meeting […]

Sanders vows to stay in Democratic nomination race

SANTA MONICA, United States (AFP) — Bernie Sanders refused to concede defeat to Hillary Clinton late Tuesday, vowing to “continue the fight” for the Democratic nomination despite his rival declaring herself the party’s flagbearer for the US presidential race. “Next Tuesday we continue the fight in the last primary in Washington DC,” the senator from Vermont told supporters in California. “And then we take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice to Philadelphia,” where […]