WASHINGTON, Aug 3, 2023 (AFP) – The United States is preparing to deploy Marines and Navy personnel aboard commercial tankers transiting the Gulf as part of efforts to deter Iran from seizing ships, a US official said Thursday. The security forces would provide a further layer of protection for the tankers in addition to the warships and planes operating in the strategically vital area, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil passes. […]
International
Trump pleads not guilty to election conspiracy charges
WASHINGTON, Aug 3, 2023 (AFP) – Former president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to criminal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election and defraud the American people. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, entered his plea during a nearly 30-minute hearing at the same Washington courthouse where hundreds of his supporters have been convicted for their roles in January 6, 2021 attack on the US […]
Several hurt in South Korean ‘stabbing rampage’: police
SEOUL, Aug 3, 2023 (AFP) – A man went on a “stabbing rampage” near a South Korean subway station, police said Thursday, with as many as 14 people reported wounded two weeks after a similar attack killed one person. The attack took place near the Seohyeon subway station in Bundang, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southeast of Seoul, an official at the National Police Agency told AFP. The suspect “had been arrested at the scene”, […]
‘Human remains’ found in Australian military chopper crash
SYDNEY, Aug 3, 2023 (AFP) – Human remains have been found at the site where an Australian military helicopter plunged into the sea off the country’s northeast coast, authorities said Thursday. Four crew members were on board the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter when it crashed close to the Whitsunday Islands during a multinational military exercise on the night of July 28. The army’s chief of joint operations, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton, told reporters in Queensland that […]
Taiwan FM says conflict with China would have ‘disastrous results’
TAIPEI, Aug 2, 2023 (AFP) – A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would have “disastrous results” for the world, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told AFP in an interview Wednesday, citing the island’s strategic importance for the semiconductor industry and global shipping lanes. Wu’s warning comes as democratically ruled Taiwan heads towards a presidential election next year, while facing increased military and political pressure from China across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory […]
US says concerned over Chinese reclamation in Manila Bay
MANILA, Aug 2, 2023 (AFP) – US diplomats have raised security and environmental concerns with the Philippines over the involvement of a Chinese company in a land reclamation project in Manila Bay, a US embassy spokesman said Wednesday. A subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co, which was blacklisted by Washington in 2020, has been contracted to reclaim 318 hectares (786 acres) in waters fronting the US embassy and Philippine Navy headquarters, the Philippine Reclamation Authority […]
US orders partial evacuation of embassy in Niger
WASHINGTON, Aug 2, 2023 (AFP) – The United States on Wednesday ordered a partial evacuation of its embassy in Niger, the State Department said, a week after the fragile nation was rocked by a coup. “On August 2, 2023, the Department ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and eligible family members from Embassy Niamey,” an updated US travel advisory for Niger said. The advisory warned US citizens “not to travel to Niger,” but […]
Winning party in Thai election excluded from coalition
BANGKOK, Aug 2, 2023 (AFP) – The reformist party that won Thailand’s general election was excluded Wednesday from a coalition trying to form the next government, as lawmakers seek to overcome resistance from military and pro-royalist senators. The Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in May’s election, riding a wave of support from young and urban Thais weary of almost a decade of army-backed rule, but it fell well short of a majority. […]
Typhoon knocks out power in southern Japan
TOKYO, Aug 2, 2023 (AFP) – One person was reportedly killed and hundreds of thousands were without electricity in southern Japan on Wednesday as a typhoon appproached packing powerful winds and lashing rain. Hundreds of flights to Okinawa and other islands in the area were cancelled, stranding thousands of tourists holidaying in the region’s tropical beach resorts. Typhoon Khanun, described as “very strong” by the Japanese weather agency, brought maximum sustained wind speeds of 180 […]
US shooter sentenced to death for 2018 synagogue massacre
By Peter HUTCHISON An American truck driver was sentenced to death on Wednesday for massacring 11 Jewish worshippers five years ago in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history. The 12-member jury unanimously ruled that Robert Bowers should be executed for the October 27, 2018 mass shooting in Pittsburgh. President Joe Biden’s Justice Department has put a moratorium on federal executions, however, meaning it is not clear whether the sentence will ever be carried out […]
Russia strikes Kyiv and grain export route on Danube
By Anna MALPAS Russian drones on Wednesday damaged infrastructure at a Ukrainian port on the Danube, as Moscow targeted strikes against facilities vital for grain shipments from Ukraine following the collapse of an export agreement. Kyiv was also targeted with drones from several directions in the latest wave of attacks aimed at Ukraine overnight, leaving several floors of a glass high-rise damaged. “The enemy attacked port facilities and industrial infrastructure of the Danube,” the Ukrainian […]
Kenya suspends Worldcoin crypto over privacy concerns
Kenya on Wednesday suspended the Worldcoin crypto project that relies on an eye scan to verify a user’s identity, citing concerns about data protection. Worldcoin, set up by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, began operating in June in Germany and provides users with a private digital identity — a “World ID” — after they get their eye’s unique iris pattern scanned. The project, according to its founders, aims to solve one of the main challenges […]
