International

Swiss artist Panchaud wins best comics album prize at Angouleme

Angoulême, France (AFP) — Swiss artist and writer Martin Panchaud won the Fauve d’Or for the best album of the year at France’s prestigious Angouleme International Comics Festival on Saturday. His book, “The Color of Things”, tells its story using the codes of video games, with characters represented by coloured circles. It was originally published in German. Earlier this week, Franco-Syrian cartoonist Riad Sattouf picked up the festival’s highest accolade, the Grand Prix, for his […]

NATO chief asks S. Korea to ‘step up’ military support for Ukraine

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asked South Korea on Monday to “step up” military support for Ukraine, suggesting it reconsider its policy of not exporting weapons to countries in conflict. Stoltenberg is in Seoul on the first leg of his Asia trip, which will also take in Japan, as part of a drive to boost ties with the region’s democratic allies in the face of the Ukraine conflict and growing […]

‘Drought’ has New Yorkers asking: ‘Where’s the snow?’

by Peter HUTCHISON Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP)  — The idea of New York in wintertime conjures up images of Manhattan’s Times Square and Central Park shrouded in snow. Not this year. No snow Sunday meant the city broke a 50-year record for the latest first snowfall of the season. It is also close to recording its highest number of consecutive days without any measurable flakes. The snowless streak has New Yorkers puzzled, […]

UK PM shows ruthless streak as ally fired over tax scandal

by Jitendra JOSHI Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday dismissed a senior ally whose murky tax dealings have focused anger at the government as a cost-of-living crisis brings misery to millions. An inquiry into the wealthy Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs — dating from his founding of the YouGov polling company in 2000 — had found a “serious breach” of ministerial rules, the government said. […]

Russian shelling of Kherson leaves at least three dead

KHERSON, Ukraine (AFP) — Russian shelling of Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson left at least three people dead on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, while a strike on Kharkiv killed one person, according to the regional governor. “Today, the Russian army has been shelling Kherson atrociously all day,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “Two women, nurses, were wounded in the hospital. As of now, there are reports of six wounded and three dead.” The […]

‘Avatar’ sequel now ranks fourth all-time in global sales

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – “Avatar: The Way of Water” continued to dominate the box-office charts, taking in an estimated $15.7 million this weekend in North American theaters to make it the fourth-leading global grosser of all time. The Disney/20thCentury sci-fi film, directed by James Cameron, “has been #1 for 7 straight weeks… a feat that hasn’t been accomplished” since Cameron issued the original “Avatar” in 2009, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said on Twitter. Hefty […]

Iran condemns ‘cowardly’ drone attack on defence site

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) – Iran on Sunday condemned a “cowardly” night-time drone attack that targeted a defense ministry site, at a time of high tensions over its nuclear programmed and Russia’s war in Ukraine. An anti-aircraft system destroyed one drone and two others exploded, the ministry said, adding that there were no casualties and only minor damage to the site in the central province of Isfahan. “This cowardly act was carried out today as part of […]

Earthquake kills three, injures 800 in northwest Iran

Tehran, Iran | AFP | by Ramin KHANIZADEH A 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit northwestern Iran overnight, killing at least three people and injuring more than 800 in the region near the border with Turkey, state officials and media said Sunday. Panicked residents fled their homes as buildings collapsed and rubble crushed cars, with hundreds seeking shelter from freezing winter conditions in evacuation centres as more than 20 aftershocks rattled the region. The shallow quake hit the […]

Memphis disbands police unit after fatal beating video

Memphis, United States | AFP | by Robin LEGRAND The US city of Memphis on Saturday disbanded the special police unit whose officers fatally beat a young Black man, after graphic video of the assault sparked widespread shock and outrage. The video, which shows five officers repeatedly kicking and punching 29-year-old Tyre Nichols as he moans and calls out for his mother, triggered calls for police reform. The southern US city on Saturday announced it […]

Flooding triggers emergency in Auckland, forces cancellation of Elton John concert

  Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Friday 1/27/2023  A state of emergency was declared in Auckland on Friday after torrential rain caused widespread flooding in New Zealand’s largest city, closing the airport and forcing the cancellation of an Elton John concert. Auckland mayor Wayne Brown told a news conference late on Friday he was “deeply saddened” after a body was found in a northern suburb. Police have not confirmed whether the death was a […]

Japan to drop mask guidance, relax Covid strategy

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Friday 1/27/2023   Japan’s government will drop its recommendation to wear masks indoors and downgrade its medical classification for Covid-19, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday. The changes, effective from early May, will classify the disease on the same level as the flu, down from its current status on par with tuberculosis and SARS. “As for masking, regardless of indoors and outdoors, the decision will be left up to individuals,” Kishida […]

Israel, Gaza militants trade missiles after deadly West Bank raid

Gaza City, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Friday 1/27/2023 by Mai Yaghi with Gareth Browne in Jenin Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip traded missile fire Friday, raising fears of a further escalation after one the deadliest army raids in the occupied West Bank in years. Israel said in response to the missiles, it “targeted an underground rocket manufacturing site” belonging to Hamas and a north Gaza military base used by the Palestinian […]