MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of southern Philippines early Thursday, seismologists said, with no damage or casualties immediately reported and no tsunami warning issued. The quake occurred at 2:21 am (1821 GMT Wednesday) off Mindanao island with its epicenter about 28 kilometers (17 miles) northwest of the mountainous town of Siocon at a depth of about 12 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said. It struck more than 750 kilometres […]
International
Strong quake hits northern Myanmar, shakes neighbouring countries
by Hla-Hla HTAY YANGON. Myanmar (AFP) — A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Myanmar on Wednesday, causing tremors around the region, including in neighbouring Bangladesh where scores were reported injured in stampedes and buildings were damaged. The quake, which took place at a depth of 134 kilometres (83 miles), hit some 400 kilometres northwest of Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), and was also felt in parts of India and China. There […]
Breaking: Magnitude 6.9 quake hits northern Myanmar: USGS
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar was struck by a magnitude 6.9 quake on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey reported, with tremors felt around the region, including in neighbouring India and China. The quake, which was 134 kilometres (214 miles) deep, hit some 396 kilometres north northwest of the capital Naypyidaw, according to the USGS. Much of Myanmar’s outlying provinces have poor communications infrastructure, including the area where the earthquake hit. However there were no […]
Economic woes, threats from North shadow South Korea vote
by Park Chan-Kyong SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Koreans voted Wednesday in legislative elections clouded by North Korean nuclear threats and the multiple challenges facing Asia’s fourth-largest economy, as President Park Geun-Hye enters the final stretch of her term in office. Political power in South Korea is firmly concentrated in the presidency and elections to the single-chamber national assembly are traditionally dominated by local issues. Rising unemployment, plunging exports and worryingly high levels of […]
Turkish border town hit by new rocket fire from Syria after 2 killed
INSTABUL, Turkey (AFP ) — A Turkish town on the Syrian border was on Wednesday hit by new rocket fire from Syria, a day after two people were killed by shelling from a jihadist-controlled area, reports said. Kilis, which lies just a few kilometres from the border with Syria, has been hit by fire from Katyusha-type rockets every day this week amid growing concern over its vulnerability. The latest rocket fire caused no injuries with the projectiles falling […]
More than 12, 000 Filipinos voted in 1st day of overseas absentee voting
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs announced that more than 12, 000 overseas Filipinos voted in the first day of the overseas absentee voting last April 9, with the Hong Kong polls having the largest voter turnout. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing by Jericho Morales, Uploaded by Lovely Ann Cruz) https://youtu.be/6OQUtrFk3hc
Traffic chaos, schools shut as Riyadh hit by rare flooding
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Traffic backed up and schools were shut in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Wednesday after the desert city was struck by a rare severe storm that sparked flooding. The storm, which struck during Tuesday evening’s rush hour, had subsided by daybreak Wednesday but some roads were still inundated. Riyadh implemented its emergency plan to deal with the flooding, the spokesman for the municipal council, Mohammed al-Shwayman, was quoted by the official Saudi […]
Bus, truck collision kills 19 in Pakistan
MULTAN,Pakistan (AFP) — At least 19 people including two children were killed in a collision between a passenger bus and a truck in Pakistan early on Wednesday, officials said. The accident took place near the town of Theekriwala in Punjab province due to “speeding and reckless driving”, senior police official Afzaal Ahmed Khosa told AFP. “Nineteen passengers including two women and two children were killed,” Khosa said. Dr Naeem Hashmi, who works at the Allied […]
Lebanon deploys army in Sidon after bomb killed senior Fatah official
SIDON, Lebanon (Reuters) – The Lebanese army was deployed in the southern city of Sidon on Tuesday (April 12) after a bomb killed an official from the Palestinian Fatah movement. The victim was identified as Fathi Zaydan, a Fatah official responsible for the Palestinian camp of Mieh Mieh in Sidon. A photograph of the blast site near a Palestinian refugee camp showed a man’s body lying next to a burning vehicle. A local official said […]
Philippines, Vietnam reaffirm strategic partnership: Commit to step up Maritime Security Cooperation
IN his maiden foreign visit as Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jose Rene D. Almendras paid a courtesy call to newly-appointed Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc in the early evening of April 11 at the Prime Minister’s Office in central Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The call on PM Phuc was followed by a call on Vet Nam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh at […]
Uber launches in Argentina; taxi drivers protest
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) – As Uber launched its service in Argentina on Tuesday (April 12), taxi drivers choked downtown Buenos Aires traffic to protest the service. The private car company, which is not yet regulated in Buenos Aires, claims to have thousands of drivers on the streets of the South American capital. It launched its service by offering users two free trips, as long as each trip was below 100 pesos (USD 5.73). Taxi drivers […]
Sinkhole forms in California street
A SINKHOLE in the middle of a California street. This was what a policeman in California recently captured in a video of the California city of Madera on Monday (April 11). The depression in the residential road was already cordoned off by police, when the street slowly started collapsing into an underground sewage line, creating a hole 15 to 20 feet deep, according to Madera police. It’s unclear what provoked the collapse, but it […]
