Dutch officials have identified a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow disease”, in a cow carcass, the government said Wednesday. The infected cow “did not enter the food chain and did not pose a risk to food safety,” Agriculture Minister Piet Adema said. BSE is linked to the fatal human condition Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease if contaminated meat is ingested. Dutch officials had sealed off the affected farm, whose location was […]
International
Myanmar junta extends state of emergency, likely delaying polls
Myanmar’s junta was granted a six-month extension to a state of emergency, state media reported Wednesday, likely delaying elections the military had pledged to hold by August. The country has been in turmoil since the army’s power grab in 2021, and a subsequent crackdown on dissent has sparked fighting across swathes of the nation while tanking the economy. On the second anniversary of the putsch, state media reported that the National Defence and Security Council […]
Half a million strike in UK’s largest walkout in 12 years
Half a million workers went on strike in Britain on Wednesday, calling for higher wages in the largest such walkout in over a decade, closing schools and severely disrupting transport. As Europe battles a cost-of-living crisis, Britain’s umbrella labour organisation the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called it the “biggest day of strike action since 2011”. The latest strikes come a day after more than 1.27 million took to the streets in France, increasing pressure on […]
Singapore detains student for planning attacks on city
Singapore has detained an 18-year-old man, accusing him of supporting the Islamic State group and planning to carry out attacks, security officials said Wednesday. Muhammad Irfan Danyal bin Mohamad Nor, a Singaporean student, was detained in December under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years. He became radicalised after viewing Islamic State group propaganda online, authorities said in a statement, adding that he wanted to use social […]
Vanuatu on alert as submerged volcano erupts
Volcano Information bulletin issued; Date: 01/02/2023 Time: 04:33 PM Location: EAST EPI ISLAND – VANUATU REGION pic.twitter.com/DQH3qvndgG — Seismology Fiji (@FijiSeismology) February 1, 2023 Vanuatu’s East Epi underwater volcano erupted Wednesday, hurtling ash into the sky and leading authorities to warn ships and aircraft to avoid the area. “We are telling locals to watch out for any strong explosions as the eruptions are still ongoing,” senior volcano officer Ricardo William, at the meteorology and geo-hazards […]
6.0-magnitude quake rocks southern Philippines
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern Philippines on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, with local authorities warning of aftershocks and possible damage. The shallow quake struck at 6:44 pm (1044 GMT), near Monkayo municipality in Davao de Oro province on Mindanao island. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones, but there were no immediate reports of major damage in the remote and mountainous gold mining region. Monkayo police Staff Sergeant Harvey […]
Australia’s lost radioactive capsule found on the side of the road
A tiny but dangerously radioactive capsule which fell off a truck along a remote stretch of outback highway in Australia last month was found on Wednesday, authorities said. The solid, silver-coloured cylinder is smaller than a human fingernail — just eight millimetres by six millimetres — but the authorities say it contains enough Caesium-137 to cause acute radiation sickness. It was discovered at the side of a desert highway just south of the town of […]
Second Indonesia tiger attack in days, hunt ongoing
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP) — A Sumatran tiger attacked and injured two farmers in a small Indonesian town Wednesday, the second such attack in days, as officials vowed to capture the big cat or cats responsible. The latest attack took place in a protected forest reserve in Aceh province — which sits on the the northern tip of Sumatra island, in the country’s west — at about 2 am (2100 GMT Tuesday). Sumatran tigers — […]
NATO chief hails Japan plans to expand defense spending
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — NATO’s chief on Wednesday applauded Japan’s plan to double its defense spending, saying that the pledge reflected the country’s resolve for greater security involvement in a volatile world. Speaking in Tokyo, Jens Stoltenberg said Japan’s renewed focus on security made the nation “even more” of a partner “for peace”. “I am glad that Japan is planning (a military budget) to reach the NATO benchmark of two percent of GDP devoted to […]
Netanyahu says considering military aid to Ukraine, mediation
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview aired Tuesday he was considering military aid to Ukraine and was willing to serve as a mediator, following US calls for more active involvement. Netanyahu made no firm commitments to Ukraine and Israel has preserved a relationship with Russia, which controls the skies in neighboring Syria and has turned a blind eye to Israeli strikes on targets of arch-nemesis Iran. Netanyahu […]
Australian Church mourns cardinal Pell, despite protests
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s Catholic Church held a prayer vigil for late cardinal George Pell who lay in state Wednesday, as sexual abuse survivors tied ribbons to the cathedral gates in protest. Pell, a Vatican powerbroker who rose from humble beginnings in small town Australia, died in Rome in January, aged 81. Once considered Pope Francis’s “right-hand man”, Pell’s final years were marked by sexual abuse allegations and criticism of his hard-line positions on […]
Ukraine hopes for progress on path to EU at Kyiv summit
by Stanislav DOSHCHITSYN with Arman SOLDIN in Bogoyavlenka Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine will hold a summit with the European Union in Kyiv this week, the government announced Tuesday, as it expressed hope the conference will bring the war-battered nation closer to EU membership almost a year after Russia launched its invasion. Kyiv also announced it expects to receive up to 140 modern battle tanks from its Western allies, and the prospect of […]





