International

Thousands of tourists flee wildfire on Greece’s Rhodes island

RHODES, Greece, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people fled wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes on Sunday as terrified tourists scrambled to get home. And there were reports of wildfires breaking out on Corfu, another popular Greek island, with land and sea evacuations underway late Sunday. On Rhodes, firefighters tackled blazes that erupted in peak tourism season, sparking the country’s largest-ever wildfire evacuation — and leaving flights and holidays cancelled. […]

Villagers say 14 killed as Myanmar violence flares

BANGKOK, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – Fighting between the Myanmar army and anti-junta rebels has flared in recent days, with locals in one village saying Saturday that more than a dozen people were killed in a single raid. Deadly violence has engulfed Myanmar since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in February 2021 and unleashed a bloody crackdown on dissent that has left thousands dead. The junta has been battling anti-coup “People’s […]

Russia says Ukrainian drones hit central Moscow, Crimea

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Ukrainian drones hit two buildings in Moscow and an ammunition depot in Russian-annexed Crimea on Monday, Russian officials said, as Ukraine reported another Russian strike on a grain facility. Russia said it had neutralized two Ukrainian drones over Moscow during the night with no casualties reported. One of the drones crashed close to the defense ministry in the center of the Russian capital, while the other hit an office building in […]

Police say New Zealand shooter’s death was suicide

WELLINGTON, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – The gunman who slayed two victims during a mass shooting in Auckland on the opening day of the Women’s World Cup killed himself during a shoot-out, New Zealand police said Monday. The tournament’s kickoff in Auckland last Tuesday was overshadowed when a gunman opened fire at a building site on the city’s waterfront. A post-mortem of the 24-year-old gunman showed he was injured when shots were exchanged with armed […]

Suspicion and regret on Arctic border still open with Russia

By Pierre-Henry DESHAYES Agence France-Presse KIRKENES, Norway (AFP) — Assault rifles at the ready, binoculars pointed at the Russian shore, the patrol boats carrying Norwegian soldiers power up the Pasvik River at full speed. This is NATO’s most northern border, the only one still officially open between Russia and Europe. It may be 3,000 kilometres (1,900 miles) from Ukraine’s front lines, but the war has turned lives upside down here, and left the Arctic region […]

In age of AI, women battle rise of deepfake porn

By Anuj Chopra with Phil Hazlewood in London WASHINGTON, July 24, 2023 (AFP) – Photo apps digitally undressing women, sexualized text-to-image prompts creating “AI girls” and manipulated images fueling “sextortion” rackets — a boom in deepfake porn is outpacing US and European efforts to regulate the technology. Artificial intelligence-enabled deepfakes are typically associated with fake viral images of well-known personalities such as Pope Francis in a puffer coat or Donald Trump under arrest, but experts […]

15 dead, 19 missing after Indonesia boat sinks

KENDARI, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 15 people were killed and 19 more were missing on Monday after a wooden boat sank off the coast of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, search and rescue officials said. The boat sank with 40 people onboard just after midnight local time (1700 GMT on Sunday), the local office of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said in a statement. Six people were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment, it said, […]

Women burn down houses of two accused over India naked women video

NEW DELHI, July 21, 2023 (AFP) – Furious women set fire to the houses of two Indian men accused of parading two women naked in a state where months of ethnic clashes have left at least 120 dead, images showed Friday. A clip went viral Wednesday showing two women reported to be from the Kuki tribal group walking naked along a street while being jeered at and harassed by a mob reportedly from the Meitei […]

‘Get him!’: Witness recalls US soldier’s dash to North Korea

SEOUL, July 21, 2023 (AFP) – When a member of a tour group visiting the Demilitarized Zone on South Korea’s border suddenly sprinted away from the pack, a US soldier shouted: “Get him”. But it was too late. Private Second Class Travis King had crossed the border into nuclear-armed North Korea, where he is now believed to be in Pyongyang’s custody, with the United States saying it was “very concerned” about how he would be […]

Top rice supplier India bans some exports

MUMBAI, India (AFP) — The world’s biggest rice exporter India has banned some overseas sales of the grain “with immediate effect”, the government said, in a move that could drive international prices even higher. Rice is a major world food staple and prices on international markets have soared to decade highs as the world grappled with the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon on production levels. […]

Saudi summons Swedish diplomat over Koran protests

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia said late Thursday it was summoning a Swedish diplomat to denounce the issuing of permits for protests that desecrate the Koran. The foreign ministry of the Gulf kingdom, home to the Muslim holy places, said in a statement it would hand the Swedish charge d’affaires “a protest note that includes the kingdom’s request to the Swedish authorities to take all immediate and necessary measures to stop these disgraceful […]

Seoul says North Korean nuclear attack would mean ‘end’ of regime

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Seoul told North Korea Friday that using its nukes would mean the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s regime, after Pyongyang threatened nuclear retaliation over growing US military deployments on the peninsula. Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points ever, with the North ramping up weapons testing as Seoul and Washington boost military cooperation. Pyongyang’s defense minister warned Thursday that this week’s port visit of a […]