International

UN sending envoy over ‘unprecedented’ Sudan war fallout

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — The top United Nations humanitarian official is heading to the Sudan region due to the “rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis” in the conflict-racked country, the UN chief said. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ announcement Sunday came shortly after rival Sudanese forces announced the extension of a truce they have largely violated, as warplanes roared overhead and fighting continued in the capital Khartoum. The fighting pits the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against […]

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Colombia urges evacuation near volcano

BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AFP) Authorities in Colombia on Saturday recommended that towns closest to a rumbling, notorious volcano be evacuated, ahead of a a possible eruption. The Disaster Risk Management Office said it was moving to evacuate communities that are located within 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the main crater of three that make up the Nevado del Ruiz volcano in the Colombian Andes. Seismic activity has increased at the volcano, which killed 25,000 people in […]

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Crimea fuel depot on fire, Russian-held towns shelled in Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine, April 29, 2023 (AFP) – A huge fire erupted in Moscow-annexed Crimea after a suspected drone attack hit an oil depot on Saturday, as fighting intensified on the southern Ukrainian front and shelling deprived Russian border villages of power. The attacks came one day after Kyiv said preparations for a long-awaited counteroffensive were nearly complete, having vowed to expel Russian forces from territory they seized in the east and south following their 2022 […]

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Gunman on the run after five people shot dead in Texas

HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) – Police were searching Saturday for a gunman believed to have shot and killed five Hondurans after they asked him to stop late-night target practice that was keeping their baby awake, the local sheriff said Saturday, in the latest mass shooting to hit the United States. An eight-year-old child was among the victims when the apparently drunken gunman stormed into the crowded house and opened fire, reportedly infuriated by the request to […]

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US demands Beijing stop ‘provocative and unsafe’ acts in South China Sea

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2023 (AFP) – The United States called on China Saturday to stop “provocative and unsafe conduct” in the disputed South China Sea after a recent near-collision with a Philippines coast guard boat there, ramping up rhetoric ahead of a visit by the Filipino president to the White House. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, in a statement two days before President Joe Biden is to host his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said […]

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China says Philippine boat’s ‘provocative action’ caused near-crash

Beijing, China | AFP | China said Friday that a near-collision in the South China Sea between a Chinese coast guard ship and a Philippine patrol vessel carrying journalists was caused by the latter’s “premeditated and provocative action”. The near-miss off the Spratly Islands on Sunday was the latest in a long string of incidents between China and the Philippines in the contested waterway. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring […]

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Gunman on the run after five people shot dead in Texas

WASHINGTON, April 29, 2023 (AFP) – Police were searching for a gunman believed to have shot dead five Hondurans including an eight-year-old child at a house in Texas, the local sheriff said Saturday, in the latest mass shooting to hit the United States. Investigators believe the gunman had been firing his AR-15 style gun in a neighboring yard when the victims asked him to stop, as they were trying to get a baby to sleep, […]

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Sniff test: Japan declares war on hayfever woes

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Japan’s prime minister vowed Friday to tackle an insidious enemy that causes enormous economic damage and misery for the country’s citizens each year: pollen. Japan’s spring season might be best known for the blooming of its famed cherry blossoms and the good cheer of flower-watching picnics, but for many it is mostly synonymous with sneezes. Each spring, the country’s vast tracts of cedar trees in particular release potent clouds of […]

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Russian occupied Ukrainian city under ‘intense’ fire

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Saturday 4/29/2023 Russian occupational authorities in southern Ukraine said Saturday that Ukrainian forces were subjecting the city of Novaya Kakhovka to “intense artillery fire” that had cut off electricity. The shelling came the same day that authorities in Russian-annexed Crimea reported a drone attack on a fuel depot and as Kyiv prepares for a widely expected counter-offensive against Moscow’s forces. Novaya Kakhovka is in the part of the southern Kherson […]

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China says Philippine boat’s ‘provocative action’ caused near-crash

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Friday that a near-collision in the South China Sea between a Chinese coast guard ship and Philippine patrol vessel carrying journalists was caused by the latter’s “premeditated and provocative action”. The near-miss off the Spratly Islands on Sunday was the latest in a steady string of incidents between China and the Philippines in the contested waterway. The incident happened after Philippine coast guard boats approached Second Thomas Shoal, known […]

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Russian strikes kill 12 in Ukraine

by Sergey Volskiy Agence France-Presse UMAN, Ukraine (AFP) — Russian strikes battered cities across Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 12 people in a barrage of missiles and drones that hit as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive. The deadly attack included a strike on a residential building and came days after the leaders of Ukraine and China spoke by phone, with Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly advocating peace negotiations. “Missile strikes killing innocent Ukrainians in […]

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India presses China on Himalayan border disputes

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has told his Chinese counterpart that military deployments on their disputed Himalayan frontier were undermining relations and called for disengagement to preserve “peace and tranquility”. Relations between the two Asian powers have been fraught since a high-altitude clash that left 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops dead in June 2020. The neighbors have since massed tens of thousands of soldiers along the […]

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