International

Trapped US explorer nears rescue from deep Turkish cave

ISTANBUL, Sept 11, 2023 (AFP) – A US explorer trapped for more than a week deep in a Turkish cave with internal bleeding could be pulled to safety as early as Monday night, rescuers said. Mark Dickey, 40, developed stomach problems on September 2 while exploring the depths of the Morca Cave, a remote complex of narrow underground tunnels in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains. The Morca Cave is Turkey’s third-deepest, according to the county’s caving […]

France insists no Morocco snub over quake aid

PARIS, Sept 11, 2023 (AFP) – France is insisting that the reluctance of Morocco to accept French offers of aid in the wake of Friday’s devastating quake does not represent a snub, even if it comes at a time of growing tensions between Rabat and the former colonial power. Along with the United States, France was conspicuously absent from a list of four countries Morocco said on Sunday it would seek aid from — Britain, […]

Countries block Swedish pork over swine fever outbreak

STOCKHOLM, Sept 11, 2023 (AFP) – Several countries have blocked imports of Swedish pork after a recent outbreak of African swine fever in wild boars in the Scandinavian country, industry officials said Monday. Armenia, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Ukraine have halted Swedish pork imports even though the disease has only been detected in wild boars at this stage, the Swedish Meat Industry Association told AFP. “This meat poses no danger… I think […]

Four hit and killed by train in Spain

MADRID, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – Four people were killed and three others injured Sunday when a commuter train hit them in Spain as they crossed the tracks outside of an authorised area, officials said. It is the latest in a series of such incidents on the line, which regional officials in Catalonia have blamed on central government underfunding. The accident happened when a group of seven people attempted to cross the railway line in […]

22 years later, two more 9/11 victims are ID’d via new DNA method

Twenty-two years after the September 11 jihadist attacks on the United States, the remains of two people who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center have been identified through DNA analysis, the authorities said ahead of the latest commemoration of the 2001 disaster. The identities of the two, a man and a woman, are being withheld at the request of their families. They bring to 1,649 the number of victims whose remains have […]

Pres. Biden hails closer ties with Vietnam, but says not aiming to contain China

HANOI, Sept 11, 2023 (AFP)  US President Joe Biden hailed closer ties with Vietnam on Sunday as the two countries struck a deal to deepen cooperation, including on semiconductors, but said he was not aiming to contain China. The “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Hanoi is part of Washington’s push to bolster its network of allies around Asia and the Pacific in the face of Beijing’s rising influence. Biden accused Beijing of seeking to bend the […]

Morocco rescuers scour rubble for survivors after quake kills 2,100

TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – Using heavy equipment and even their bare hands, rescuers in Morocco on Sunday stepped up efforts to find survivors of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,100 people and flattened villages. The first foreign rescuers flew in to help after the North African country’s strongest-ever quake killed at least 2,122 people and injured more than 2,400, many seriously, according to official figures updated late on Sunday. Friday’s […]

US and Vietnam set to expand ties as China worries grow

HANOI, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden arrives in Vietnam on Sunday to deepen cooperation between the two nations, in the face of China’s ambitions in the region. Biden — who is flying from the G20 summit in New Delhi — will meet the leader of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, on Sunday to sign off on a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, Hanoi’s highest level of diplomatic ties. The underlying goal […]

Rescues underway in flood-hit Greek towns as toll rises to 11

PALAMAS KARDITSA, Greece, Sept 9, 2023 (AFP) – Firefighters backed by the army were rescuing hundreds of people Saturday in villages in central Greece blocked off by floods, as the toll rose to 11 dead. “More than 2,850 people have been rescued since the beginning of the bad weather,” fire department spokesman Yannis Artopios told broadcaster Mega on Saturday. “There are still many people in the villages around Karditsa, Palamas and toward Trikala. They are […]

Morocco mourns quake victims as death toll passes 2,000

TAFEGHAGHTE, Morocco, Sept 10, 2023 (AFP) – Moroccans on Sunday mourned the victims of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people, as rescue teams raced to find survivors trapped in the rubble of flattened villages. The strongest-ever quake to hit the country has killed at least 2,012 people and injured over 2,059, many of them critically, according to the latest official figures. Friday’s 6.8-magnitude quake struck 72 kilometres (45 miles) southwest of the […]

Philippines condemns Chinese boats’ ‘illegal’ actions in South China Sea

By Pam Castro and Cecil Morella The Philippines condemned “illegal” actions by Chinese vessels on Friday after the boats allegedly interfered in another resupply mission to a remote military outpost in the disputed South China Sea. Philippine Coast Guard vessels were escorting supply boats to Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands when they encountered Chinese coast guard and “militia” boats, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said. While the cargo was […]

Teacher suicide prompts soul searching in education-obsessed S Korea

By Kang Jin-kyu For weeks, a young South Korean teacher was bombarded with texts and calls from parents irate at how their child had been treated. Then she was found dead in her classroom. The suicide of the 23-year-old woman, in just her second year of teaching, has triggered an outpouring of grief and rage and set off widespread protests, including a rare strike, as teachers push back against what they call untenable working conditions. […]