International

Aid finally getting to Fiji cyclone victims

SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — Humanitarian aid was finally reaching isolated communities in Fiji devastated by super-cyclone Winston, officials said Friday, with the government estimating the damage bill will top hundreds of millions of dollars. At least 44 people died when the most powerful storm in Fiji’s history hit on Saturday and the UN says about 50,000 — more than five percent of the entire population — have been left homeless. Some of the worst-affected villages were on […]

Obama warns Russia ‘world will be watching’ Syria ceasefire

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Barack Obama put the onus for upholding a ceasefire in Syria firmly on the regime and its Russian ally Thursday, warning Moscow and Damascus that the “world will be watching.” Hours before the Saturday cessation of hostilities comes into force, Obama huddled with his top national security advisors to plot the way forward and discuss the campaign against the Islamic State group. “Everybody knows what needs to happen,” Obama […]

Obama says U.S. will prevail in fight against Islamic State

WASHINGTON D. C., United States (Reuters) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday (February 25) expressed confidence that the United States would prevail in its fight against the Islamic State, but said that an end to the conflict in Syria would be key to dismantling the group. Obama made the comments following a meeting with the National Security Council at the State Department. Obama said his security team was realistic about how difficult the fight […]

Dozens of sea lions wash up dead on Chile’s northern coast

ANTOFAGASTA, Chile (Reuters) — Dozens of sea lions have washed up on Chile’s northern shore in the region of Antofagasta, local media reported on Thursday (February 25). It was a grim scene on the beach of the coastal town of Hornitos, with most of them found in an advanced state of decomposition. Chilean environmental authorities have said the animals are dying of starvation because the El Nino phenomenon is causing a scarcity of phytoplankton. Phytoplankton […]

China to secure ‘de facto’ control of S. China Sea: US admiral

 WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — China is on its way to securing “de facto” control of the South China Sea, a top US admiral warned Thursday, amid growing unease over Beijing’s continued military build up in the contested waterway. By building air bases and hardened bunkers on tiny islands, some of which are reclaimed from the sea, and by installing sophisticated radar and missile defense systems, China has shown it is determined to achieve military primacy in […]

UN weighs tough new N. Korea sanctions resolution

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council headed toward a vote on a new US-drafted resolution presented Thursday that would impose the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The draft text would require countries to take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from North Korea, impose new trade restrictions and bar North Korean vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods from ports. The United States, […]

Emergency response workers find bodies of all Nepal plane crash victims

Kathmandu, Nepal (AFP)—Emergency workers have found the bodies of all 23 passengers and crew killed when their plane crashed into a mountainside in western Nepal, the army said Thursday. The police and army returned to the crash site at first light after abandoning recovery efforts late Wednesday due to bad weather in the remote Himalayan district where the Twin Otter turboprop aircraft came down. The site in Myagdi district is around 16,000 feet (4,900 meters) […]

Death toll rises as Fiji cleans up after ‘strongest ever’ cyclone

Suva, Fiji (AFP) — Fiji began a massive clean-up on Sunday after the most powerful cyclone in the Pacific nation’s history left a trail of destruction, killing six people, flattening scores of homes and crippling infrastructure. The super-storm lashed the popular tourist destination overnight Saturday, packing wind gusts of 325 kilometres (202 miles) per hour, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA. OCHA said six people were killed during severe tropical cyclone Winston, the first-ever storm […]

Rio 2016 reveals route for Brazil’s Olympic torch relay

(Reuters) – The Olympic torch will visit 329 cities across each of Brazil´s 26 states and the Federal District, the Rio 2016 organising committee announced on Wednesday (February 24) in a colourful ceremony at its headquarters in the centre of Rio de Janeiro. One of the greatest symbols of the Olympics will arrive in Brazil’s capital from the Games’ heartland in Athens on May 3, and will be carried 20,000 kilometres (12,430 miles) across ground […]

Fiji eyes more cyclone aid as toll hits 44

Suva, Fiji (AFP)—Cyclone-devastated Fiji said it was likely to need more foreign aid Thursday as the body count from the most powerful storm in its history climbed to 44. France became the latest country to join the relief effort following last weekend’s deadly super-cyclone, flying in three tons of supplies and 40 engineers to help rebuild crippled infrastructure. But with Care Australia confirming the death toll had reached 44 — up from 42 previously — […]

US, China agree on UN N. Korea reso

Washington, United States (AFP)—The United States and China have agreed on a UN resolution on North Korea and will not accept Pyongyang as a “nuclear weapons state,” the White House said Wednesday. National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed “on the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea’s provocations, including through a UN Security Council Resolution that goes beyond previous resolutions,” National Security Council spokesperson Ned […]

Crisis due to ‘tricky’ Zika to ‘get worse before it gets better,’ WHO chief says

  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (AFP)—The Zika virus, believed to be linked to the serious birth defect microcephaly, presents a “formidable” challenge that will be hard to stamp out, World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan said Wednesday. “Things could get worse before it gets better,” she said in Rio de Janeiro after a fact-finding mission to Brazil, the epicenter of the global health scare. Chan said part of the challenge in fighting the mosquito-borne virus […]