International

Taiwan to bolster military ties with United States: President Tsai

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan will boost military exchanges with the United States to curb “authoritarian expansionism”, President Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday after meeting with visiting US lawmakers. The five-day US Congressional visit comes after a top US defense official reportedly made a rare and highly secretive stopover to the self-ruled island as Washington-Beijing tensions flared over alleged Chinese spy balloons. “Taiwan and the United States continue to bolster military exchanges,” Tsai said after convening […]

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China ‘deeply concerned’ over Ukraine conflict, vows to ‘promote dialogue’

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Beijing is “deeply concerned” about the conflict in Ukraine, which is “intensifying and even getting out of control”. Beijing will “work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security,” Qin Gang said in a speech on global security. Referencing the coming first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor on February 24, Qin said […]

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UN Security Council ‘silence’ on N. Korea missiles ‘dangerous’, US says

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday denounced a “dangerous” lack of action by the UN Security Council on North Korea’s missile launches, accusing — but not naming — China and Russia of having “forced” the body “into silence.” The reclusive North Korean state test-fired dozens of missiles in 2022, setting security postures in East Asia on edge. It fired two ballistic missiles Monday, 48 hours after it test-launched an intercontinental […]

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Lula visits disaster zone after Brazil floods kill 36

by Luján Scarpinelli Agence France-Presse SÃO SEBASTIÃO, Brazil (AFP) — President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday toured a resort region turned disaster zone where torrential rains killed at least 36 people just as carnival celebrations were held in Brazil, where dozens remained missing. Rescue workers were racing to find any survivors buried under the mud and rubble after 24 hours of record rain over the weekend triggered violent floods and landslides that devastated […]

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Biden makes surprise trip to Kyiv before invasion anniversary

by Emmanuel PEUCHOT Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Monday made a trip to Kyiv organized in strict secrecy, promising $500 million in fresh arms deliveries and “unwavering” American support ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Air raid sirens rang out across Kyiv at one point as Biden walked alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during what was the US president’s first visit to the country since Russian troops […]

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Brazil flooding, landslides kill at least 24

by Luján Scarpinelli Agence France-Presse SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain in Brazil claimed at least 24 lives on Carnival weekend in southeast Sao Paulo state, authorities said Sunday. TV and social media footage from the town of San Sebastiao showed entire neighborhoods under water, debris from hillside houses swept away by oozing earth, flooded highways and cars destroyed by fallen trees, among other damage. At least 23 people […]

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N. Korea fires ballistic missiles, warns on turning Pacific into ‘firing range’

  Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Monday 2/20/2023 North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Monday, Seoul said, Pyongyang’s second launch in 48 hours as Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister warned of turning the Pacific into a “firing range”. South Korea’s military said they had detected the launch of “two short-range ballistic missiles fired from Sukchon areas in South Pyongan province between 0700-0711 (2200-2211 GMT)”. Tokyo also confirmed the launch, with the Prime Minister’s […]

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URGENT: N. Korea says turning Pacific into ‘firing range’ depends on US actions

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister on Monday warned of “corresponding counteraction” to US-South Korean joint military drills, state media said, after Pyongyang carried out two banned missile launches in two days. “The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the US forces’ action character,” Kim Yo Jong said in statement carried by the official KCNA. This is a developing story… © Agence […]

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Six dead in Mississippi shooting rampage, suspect detained

  Washington, United States | AFP | Six people were killed Friday in a shooting rampage in a rural area of the southern US state of Mississippi, local media reported. Police said a man who is now in custody shot a person at a store in the small town of Arkabutla, and then went to a nearby house and killed a woman, according to media in nearby Memphis, Tennessee. The man then drove his car […]

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Covid infection gives similar immunity to vaccination: study

Paris, France | AFP | Thursday 2/17/2023 The protection against Covid-19 from being previously infected lasts at least as long as that offered by vaccination, one of the largest studies conducted on the subject said on Friday. Ten months after getting Covid, people still had an 88 percent lower risk of reinfection, hospitalisation and death, according to the study published in the Lancet journal. That makes this natural immunity “at least as durable, if not […]

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France drops Covid testing for travellers from China

  Beijing, China | AFP | Friday 2/17/2023 France has dropped Covid testing restrictions imposed on travellers from China, the French embassy in Beijing said. Since January, visitors aged 11 and over travelling from China to France have had to present a negative test taken 48 hours before the flight to board the plane. The restrictions were introduced as China experienced a wave of coronavirus infections after lifting its stifling zero-Covid policy in December. “Travellers from […]

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Chinese tech billionaire goes missing: company

Beijing, China | AFP | Friday 2/17/2023 The Chinese billionaire chairman of investment bank China Renaissance has gone missing, the firm said, as shares in the company plunged in Hong Kong on Friday. Bao Fan, who is also executive director of the bank, is a major figure in the Chinese tech industry and has played a key role in the emergence of various domestic internet startups. “The company has been unable to contact Mr Bao,” […]

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