SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Seoul prosecutors believe North Korea hacked into the email accounts of dozens of South Korean government officials this year — the latest in a series of suspected cyber-attacks by Pyongyang — the South’s Yonhap news agency reported Monday. Investigations showed 56 people — including officials at the foreign, defence and unification ministries — had their email passwords stolen by a “North Korea-operated group” from January to June, Yonhap said, citing […]
International
Taliban truck bomb rocks hotel for foreigners in Kabul
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — A massive Taliban truck bomb struck a hotel for foreigners on the outskirts of Kabul early Monday, officials said, just days after the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital for 15 years. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the powerful bombing, which occurred close to the US-run Bagram air base north of Kabul but rattled windows several kilometres (miles) away. The attack on Northgate hotel, a heavily guarded compound […]
Balloon in deadly Texas crash likely touched power line
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A hot air balloon that went down in a fiery crash in a Texas pasture, killing all 16 people on board, likely struck a power line, an investigator said Sunday. NTSB official Robert Sumwalt said it was not clear if fire broke out before or after the balloon apparently touched electrical wires, NBC reported. A power line runs prominently across the field. The US National Transportation Safety Board, taking the […]
Tensions as tens of thousands rally for Erdogan in Germany
by Richard HEISTER with Stuart WILLIAMS in Istanbul COLOGNE, Germany (AFP) — Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied in the German city of Cologne on Sunday as tensions over Turkey’s failed coup put authorities on edge. Waving the Turkish flag and chanting “Turkey”, the demonstrators turned the rally site next to the River Rhine into a sea of red as they began the demonstration by singing the Turkish and […]
Clinton says Trump’s praise of Russia raises ‘national security issues’
by Brian KNOWLTON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton on Sunday sharply criticized Donald Trump over his “absolute allegiance” to Russian policy aims, saying it raised both “national security issues” and new doubts about his temperament. Trump, her Republican rival in the race for the White House, responded defiantly, saying that he had “no relationship” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and had never met nor spoken to him by phone, but that “if our […]
Tokyo elects Yuriko Koike as first woman governor: exit polls
Tokyo, Japan (AFP ) —Veteran politician Yuriko Koike was elected governor of Tokyo on Sunday, according to media exit polls, becoming the first woman to lead Japan’s capital. Public broadcaster NHK, Jiji Press and other media forecast Koike as the winner immediately after polls closed at 8 pm (1100 GMT). “I will lead Tokyo politics in an unprecedented manner, a Tokyo you have never seen,” Koike, 64, told cheering supporters in a hoarse voice after two weeks of […]
Tokyo votes to elect new governor after scandals
by Harumi OZAWA Tokyo, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo residents voted Sunday for a new governor tasked with preparing for the problem-plagued 2020 Olympics, after financial scandals forced the last two leaders of the sprawling metropolis to quit. The Japanese capital’s troubled preparations for the summer Olympics, especially the soaring costs, will be the major challenge facing the winner. Euphoria in 2013 at securing the right to host sport’s marquee event has given way to frustration […]
‘Multiple’ victims in Texas shooting: police
Washington, United States (AFP) –Police in Austin, Texas said that an “active shooter” had on Sunday caused “multiple victims,” with local media reports saying that at least one person was dead. Police said via Twitter there were separate shootings downtown “within the same area,” and that “both scenes are secure at this time.” A woman in her 30s was killed in the incident, the Austin American-Statesman newspaper reported, citing county emergency medical personnel. At least […]
Erdogan tells West ‘mind your own business’ as journalists jailed
by Stuart WILLIAMS Raziye AKKOC ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday told the EU and US to “mind your own business” after the West expressed alarm over the growing crackdown against suspected coup plotters, as a court placed 17 journalists under arrest. Turkey has detained more than 18,000 people over the coup which Ankara blames on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, with the relentless crackdown sparking warnings from Brussels that […]
Clinton, Trump take gloves off in White House slog
by Ivan Couronne with Jennie Matthew in New York PHILADELPHIA, United States (AFP) — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump traded insults at opposite ends of the country Friday, taking their fight for the White House to rival battleground states and portraying starkly different visions of America. One of the most divisive US campaigns in modern history is entering a new chapter with Republicans and Democrats having selected their nominees, leaving the candidates slogging it out […]
One cop killed, one wounded in San Diego shooting
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A police officer died and another was wounded in a shooting at a traffic stop in San Diego, police said Friday. A Hispanic man was later taken into custody, San Diego police chief Shelley Zimmerman told a news conference. He was not immediately identified, but Zimmerman said he is now in the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the upper torso. “We are still actively investigating the […]
Six more officials charged in Flint water scandal
CHICAGO, United States (AFP) – Authorities in the US state of Michigan filed criminal charges Friday against six current and former state officials over lead water contamination in the city of Flint, signaling that their probe is expanding. “Many things went tragically wrong in Flint. Some failed to act,” Michigan State Attorney General Bill Schuette told a news conference as he announced the new charges. “Some intentionally altered figures, and covered up.” More than 8,000 […]
