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The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said Wednesday. “As the firefighting efforts continue, 36 total fatalities have been discovered today amid the active Lahaina fire,” the Maui county government said in a statement. The fires began burning early Tuesday, putting homes, businesses and utilities at risk, as well as more than 35,000 people on the island of Maui, the Hawaii Emergency […]
At least 17 people drowned when a boat carrying Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar’s Rakhine state broke up at sea this week, rescuers said Thursday. Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives each year making perilous sea journeys from camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar to try to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia. Byar La, a rescuer from the Shwe Yaung Metta Foundation in the town of Sittwe, said more than 50 people were thought to be on […]
Beaten, forced to eat animal faeces and chained to a dog cage — the abuse of an Indonesian maid highlights the government’s failure to protect domestic workers at home even as it moves to help those abroad, critics say. Siti Khotimah left her Central Java hometown for capital Jakarta last year when she found a maid job on Facebook to help her parents with debt. After months of torture by her employer, the 24-year-old now […]
LOS ANGELES, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – At least six people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, with desperate residents jumping into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames. US Coast Guard officers plucked at least a dozen people from the water as emergency services were overwhelmed by a disaster that appeared to have erupted almost without warning. “I’m sad to report that […]
MOSCOW, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – Moscow accused Poland and Finland of threatening its security on Wednesday and vowed a response to multiplying “threats” on Russia’s western frontier from NATO members. Poland, Ukraine’s staunch ally and neighbour, has strengthened security on its border with Belarus after Minsk became a new base for Russian Wagner fighters. Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, joined NATO in April in a historic move fuelled by Moscow’s Ukraine […]
MANILA, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – President Ferdinand Marcos said Wednesday he was “not aware” of any agreement with China to remove a Philippine Navy vessel grounded on a reef in the disputed South China Sea. Marcos’ remarks were in response to Beijing’s insistence in recent days that Manila had “repeatedly” promised to tow away the crumbling BRP Sierra Madre from Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. The BRP Sierra Madre, which the Philippines […]
TOKYO, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – Japan’s second-oldest museum has raised $3.4 million through crowdfunding after reportedly being denied additional financial support to cover soaring utility bills to preserve its collection of animal and plant specimens. More than 30,000 people have donated a total of 480 million yen to the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, easily surpassing the 100-million-yen target, campaign platform READYFOR said on Wednesday. The head of the 146-year-old museum, […]
DAMASCUS, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – A Syrian television journalist and two soldiers were killed on Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded in the southern province of Daraa, state media reported. “Correspondent Firas al-Ahmad from (privately owned) Sama TV and two members of our armed forces were killed by an explosive device” as they returned from a counternarcotics operation in the province, state television said. “Terrorists” had planted the bomb, it added. Daraa was the […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – The United Nations has said it reached agreement with the Syrian government on aid deliveries to rebel-held areas from Turkey, raising concern among relief groups who had wanted Damascus kept out. Under a 2014 deal, most international aid had passed through the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey without the authorization of Damascus. But last month, the Security Council failed to reach consensus on extending the mechanism, […]
BEIJING, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia this week, Beijing said on Wednesday as it seeks to build ties in the region. Wang, who returned to the post last month after the unexplained disappearance of predecessor Qin Gang, will travel to the three countries from Thursday to Sunday, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. “China hopes to strengthen strategic communication with the three […]
MOSCOW, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – Two Ukrainian combat drones headed for Moscow were shot down, Russian officials said on Wednesday, the latest in a surge of drone attacks targeting the capital. The attempted attack comes a day after the death toll from strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk rose to nine. “Two combat drones’ attempt to fly into the city was recorded. Both were shot down by air defence,” Moscow Mayor Sergei […]
In a significant achievement reported by the Bureau of Customs on Tuesday (August 8, 2023), the Philippines secures the second rank in Southeast Asia within the UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2023. This achievement is underscored by the Philippines’ Trade Facilitation score of 87.10%. This ascent from the third position in the 2021 survey underscores the nation’s unwavering momentum in modernizing trade processes and achieving top-tier customs administration standards, as stated […]
