International

‘I was born here’: Thousands in limbo in Dominican Republic

by Javier Tovar Agence France-Presse SANTA CRUZ DE EL SEIBO, Dominican Republic (AFP) — When Andres was 12, his Dominican Republic citizenship — his only possession of any real value — was snatched from him by a court ruling targeting people with foreign-born parents. Ten years later, Andres is still undocumented in the country where he was born, working a backbreaking, low-paying job in the sugarcane fields with little hope of bettering himself. Andres’s mother […]

IMF chief urges world to avoid a ‘second Cold War’

by Daniel AVIS Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Countries must do more to avert the costly consequences of growing global trade fragmentation and help avert a “second Cold War,” the International Monetary Fund’s managing director said Thursday. “I am among those who know what are the consequences of a Cold War: it is loss of talent and contribution to the world,” Kristalina Georgieva said during a press conference at the official start of […]

TikTok faces ban in Montana as US backlash continues

by Alex PIGMAN Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US state of Montana on Thursday was on the verge of implementing a total ban on TikTok, after a proposal passed a key hurdle in the state’s legislature. Montana’s Republican-dominated lower house overwhelmingly voted for a complete ban on the popular Chinese owned app, with a final vote set for Friday before it goes to the state’s governor to become law. If signed, the […]

Attackers slay five in new spate of violence in Ecuador

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AFP) — Armed attackers on Thursday killed three women guards outside a jail in southwestern Ecuador, while in a separate attack two people in a small boat were gunned down, authorities said. The massive prison complex in Ecuador’s biggest city, Guayaquil, is notorious for massacres committed by rival gangs vying for power within the penitentiary. Police said on Twitter that reinforcements “have been deployed in order to find those responsible for this criminal […]

US airman arrested over Pentagon documents leak

by W.G. Dunlop Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — FBI agents on Thursday arrested a 21-year-old national guardsman suspected of being behind a major leak of sensitive US government secrets — including about the Ukraine war. Broadcast live on TV networks, the dramatic arrest was the culmination of a weeklong investigation — fueled by intense media coverage — into one of the most damaging leaks of classified information since the 2013 dump of National […]

China to ban ships from area near Taiwan due to ‘falling rocket wreckage’

by Matthew WALSH China will ban ships from entering an area north of Taiwan on Sunday due to “possible falling rocket wreckage”, a provincial maritime authority said, days after Beijing conducted large-scale military drills around the self-ruled island. The area around 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, will be closed from 9:00 am (0100 GMT) to 3:00 pm (0700 GMT), the maritime safety administration of China’s eastern Fujian province said Thursday. It […]

S. Korea top court orders Google to disclose shared privacy data

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Thursday 4/13/2023 South Korea’s top court ruled Thursday that Google must disclose details of any personal information of South Korean nationals that it had shared with third parties, sending the case back to a lower court. The ruling comes in response to a 2014 lawsuit filed by a group of activists against the global tech giant and its local unit, Google Korea, demanding it disclose how their personal information […]

ASEAN ‘strongly condemns’ Myanmar air strike that killed dozens

Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | Thursday 4/13/2023 The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), criticised for its inaction over the deepening Myanmar crisis, strongly condemned on Thursday air strikes that reportedly killed dozens of people. Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, is the 2023 chair of the regional bloc and is hoping to kickstart a five-point plan, agreed with the Myanmar junta two years ago, and other mediation attempts that have so far failed to end […]

Norway expels 15 ‘intel officers’ at Russian embassy

Oslo, Norway | AFP | Thursday 4/13/2023 Norway on Thursday announced the expulsion of 15 “intelligence officers” working at the Russian embassy in Oslo. “The 15 intelligence officers have been engaging in activities that are not compatible with their diplomatic status,” Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement. According to the statement the “officers” had been declared “personae non gratae,” and that they must leave “shortly.” Contacted by AFP, the Russian embassy in Oslo […]

Evacuations ordered as tropical cyclone nears Australia

Severe Weather Update: Severe Tropical Cyclone Ilsa now category 5. Video current: 3:00pm AWST 13 April 2023. Know your weather. Know your risk. For the latest forecasts and warnings go to our website https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh or the BOM weather app. pic.twitter.com/6Sbs904Joe — Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) April 13, 2023 Sydney, Australia | AFP | Thursday 4/13/2023 A powerful tropical cyclone hurtled towards Western Australia on Thursday, triggering a “red alert” emergency and evacuation orders as […]

US, Philippines troops fire Javelins in largest joint war games

PALAYAN, Philippines | AFP | Thursday 4/13/2023 by Mikhail FLORES US and Philippine troops held anti-tank missile exercises on Thursday, as the allies stepped up their largest war games, which have already drawn China’s ire. Under a plume of black smoke, three cars parked on scrubland were crushed by missiles fired from about 600 metres (0.37 miles) away by three soldiers at a military base in the north of the Philippines. The annual Balikatan manoeuvres […]

Ecuador authorities arrest three after gang shooting: president

QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Ecuadoran authorities arrested three people in connection to a gang-related shooting that left nine dead in the northern coastal city of Esmeraldas, President Guillermo Lasso said on Wednesday. Around 30 men on motorcycles and boats opened fire indiscriminately on a crowd at a fishing port in the city on Tuesday, CCTV images showed, with passers-by jumping into the water to escape the bullets. “There are three people in custody from the […]