JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) – Jakarta rejected Thursday the findings of an international panel of judges that declared Indonesia had committed crimes against humanity in anti-communist killings during the 1960s in which it claimed the US, Britain and Australia were complicit. At least 500,000 people died in the months-long purge across the Southeast Asian archipelago that started after General Suharto put down a coup blamed on the communists on October 1, 1965. Suharto took power on […]
International
Police in Florida shoot black man lying on ground
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – A unarmed black man trying to help a patient with autism was shot and wounded by Florida police while lying on the ground with his arms raised in the air and pleading with officers to hold their fire. Charles Kinsey was wounded in the leg in the incident Monday in Miami, which came as he was trying to help a disoriented autistic man who had wandered away from a group […]
Spain seeks ‘urgent’ answers from London after nuclear sub collision
MADRID, Spain (AFP) – by Marianne BARRIAUX Spain said Thursday it had asked London for “urgent” explanations after a British nuclear submarine collided with a vessel off the coast of Gibraltar, forcing it to dock in the disputed territory. The incident sparked environmental fears as well as concerns it could lead to yet another diplomatic row between London and Madrid, which wants Gibraltar back centuries after it was ceded to Britain in 1713. The HMS Ambush […]
The ‘Gulenists’ Erdogan blames for Turkey coup
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Nicolas GAUDICHET Since surviving last week’s coup attempt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has escalated his battle against his arch-enemy, US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen whom he accuses of orchestrating the failed putsch. Once close allies, the two fell out several years ago, and Erdogan now labels Gulen’s supporters “terrorists” who run a shadowy “parallel state” in Turkey and tried to bring him down with military force. Erdogan has demanded the […]
France probes possible security failings in Nice attack
PARIS, France (AFP) – by Andrea BAMBINO with Catherine MARCIANO in Nice French President Francois Hollande on Thursday promised “truth and transparency” from an inquiry into allegations of lax security the night of the Bastille Day attack in Nice that killed 84 people. “When there is a tragedy, or in this case an attack with many dead… there will naturally be questions,” Hollande said during a visit to Dublin, adding that the conclusions of the police probe […]
Nearly 100 dead or missing from China rains: officials
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Torrential rain lashing northern China in recent days has left nearly 100 people dead or missing, official figures showed. At least 24 people in the provinces of Hebei, which surrounds Beijing, Shanxi, Henan and Shaanxi have been confirmed dead in a rainstorm that has been pounding the region since Monday, according to figures from the civil affairs ministry. Hebei was the worst hit, with 14 dead and 72 missing, it said […]
Protests as S. Korea president defends US anti-missile system
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Several thousand South Koreans staged an angry protest Thursday against the planned deployment of a US anti-missile system near their hometown, but President Park Geun-Hye insisted the move was a national security imperative. South Korea’s defense ministry announced last week the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, will be installed in Seongju — a rural county about 200 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Seoul — by the end […]
China slams US Republicans for ‘groundless accusations’
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Thursday warned the Donald Trump-fronted US Republican Party against making “groundless accusations” after it accused Beijing of cultural genocide and said its economy was based on piracy. The GOP said in its 2016 platform that Beijing made “a preposterous claim to the entire South China Sea”, adding that “cultural genocide continues” in the regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. “The currency is manipulated, our technology is stolen and intellectual property […]
Sustainable resource management promotion urged to promote 17 SGDs
Caesar Vallejos EBC Correspondent With the theme “Empowering Sustainable Convergence”, the ASEAN Corporate Sustainability Summit and Awards (ACSSA) held at the Manila Marriott Grand Ballroom Hotel last July 21, 2016 urged industry leaders, sustainability practitioners, civil society partners, regional regulators, public sector leaders and aid agencies to converge and become more involved in sustainable development. One of the event’s speakers, David Young, Chief Operations Officer of impact investing technology company ADEC Innovations, focused on the […]
Five detained over Nice attack to face judge
by Anne Pascale REBOUL Sophie DEVILLER NICE, France (AFP) — Five people detained after last week’s massacre in Nice are due to appear before a judge Thursday, as France is set to pass a law extending the state of emergency. The government is scrambling to reassure a jittery population after the country’s third major attack in 18 months killed 84 people out celebrating Bastille Day. Four men and one woman aged between 22 and 40 […]
Trump tweets “Cruz got booed off the stage, didn’t honor the pledge!”
REUTERS — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reacted on Wednesday (July 20) after U.S. Senator Ted Cruz cold reception at the Republican National Convention. “Wow, Ted Cruz got booed off the stage, didn’t honor the pledge! I saw his speech two hours early but let him speak anyway. No big deal,” Trump Tweeted after Cruz got jeered during his speech at the convention as it became clear he would not endorse his former rival. Cruz […]
South Korean president calls for unity over THAAD deployment
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Thursday (July 21) the move to deploy a THAAD missile defense system was “inevitable” because of a growing threat from North Korea and that division in the South over its deployment is what Pyongyang seeks. North Korea’s launch of three ballistic missiles on Tuesday (July 19) was the latest evidence that the anti-missile system is needed, Park said at a National Security Council […]
