Lucknow, India (AFP) Indian police are searching for a teacher accused of beating a low-caste student to death over a spelling mistake, officers said Tuesday, after suppressing violent protests triggered by the incident. Nikhil Dohre was struck with a rod and kicked until he fell unconscious by his high school teacher earlier this month after misspelling the word “social” in an exam, according to a police complaint by his father. The 15-year-old died from his […]
International
Vietnam orders mass evacuations ahead of Super Typhoon Noru
Danang, Vietnam (AFP) Vietnam ordered hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes Tuesday as Super Typhoon Noru barrelled towards the busy city of Danang, with forecasters predicting the storm would be one of the biggest to hit the country. Almost half of Vietnam’s airports have been shut, schools and offices across several central provinces were closed and residents rushed to find shelter before the expected arrival of the typhoon on Wednesday. After slamming […]
Sabotage suspected after Nord Stream pipeline leaks
Copenhagen, Denmark (AFP) by Camille BAS-WOHLERT The two Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Europe have been hit by unexplained leaks, Scandinavian authorities said Tuesday, raising suspicions of sabotage. The pipelines have been at the centre of geopolitical tensions in recent months as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine. While the pipelines, which are operated by a consortium majority-owned by Russian gas […]
Putin wants to ‘save people’ of Moscow-held Ukrainian territories
Moscow, Russia (AFP) President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia wanted to “save people” in four Moscow-controlled territories in Ukraine, on the last day of annexation votes denounced as a sham by Western leaders. If the regions vote to join Russia, Moscow will claim sovereignty over about 20 percent of Ukraine, including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. “Saving people in all the territories where this referendum is taking place… is the focus of the attention […]
Hurricane Ian hits Cuba as Category 3 storm
HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) – Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday, with the storm prompting mass evacuations and fears it will bring widespread destruction as it heads for the US state of Florida. “Ian is already over Cuban territory,” said a forecaster from the country’s Institute of Meteorology in a special broadcast on state television. “The outer wall of the storm is on the coast of the province of Pinar del Rio.” About […]
Philippines to deport 40,000 Chinese workers in online gaming crackdown
Manila, Philippines (AFP) The Philippines will deport 40,000 Chinese workers in a crackdown on unlicensed online gaming businesses, an official said Tuesday, after reports of kidnapping, prostitution and murder in the gambling industry. So-called Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, have boomed since 2016. But the influx of tens of thousands of Chinese workers in the sector that targets customers in China, where gambling is illegal, has created friction. Many Filipinos complain POGOs have evaded […]
Russians arriving daily in Georgia have doubled since draft: minister
Tbilisi, Georgia (AFP) The number of Russians arriving daily in neighbouring Georgia has nearly doubled since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation for the war in Ukraine, officials in Tbilisi said Tuesday. Putin’s announcement has sparked a new wave of exodus to the Caucasus country of Georgia which has been a major destination for Russians fleeing since the war began on February 24. “Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 (Russians) were arriving in […]
Japan honours assassinated Abe at controversial funeral
Tokyo, Japan (AFP) by Hiroshi HIYAMA / Sara HUSSEIN Japanese and foreign dignitaries paid tribute to assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe at a controversial state funeral on Tuesday, as long lines of people gathered to offer flowers and prayers. Abe’s ashes, carried by his widow Akie, arrived at the storied Budokan venue in Tokyo, where a 19-gun salute sounded in honour of the slain former leader. In a eulogy, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida described […]
Bangladesh pilgrim boat tragedy death toll hits 61
Boda, Bangladesh (AFP) Rescuers and navy divers recovered 10 bodies Tuesday after a boat overloaded with religious pilgrims capsized in Bangladesh, police said, taking the death toll to 61 as anxious relatives waited for news of several people who were still missing. The incident on Sunday near the northern town of Boda was the deadliest in years in the South Asian country, which is crisscrossed by rivers where overcrowding on aged vessels is common. Seventeen […]
Hurricane Ian strengthens to Category 3 storm ahead of Cuba, Florida landfall
2:30 AM EDT 9/27 Update: Hurricane #Ian strengthens into a major hurricane. A tropical cyclone update has been issued. More: https://t.co/tW4KeFW0gB pic.twitter.com/clUcNw5cBF — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 27, 2022 Havana, Cuba (AFP) by Leticia PINEDA Hurricane Ian strengthened into a Category 3 storm on Tuesday, the United States National Hurricane Center said, as Cuba and Florida — both in the storm’s likely path — ramped up preparations to deal with high winds and […]
North Korea, China resume cross-border train trade after Covid suspension
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea and China have resumed cross-border freight train trade, Seoul said Tuesday, ending a five-month suspension linked to Covid-19. North Korea has maintained a rigid blockade since the start of the pandemic, with even trade with China — the North’s economic lifeline — slowing to a trickle. Cross-border freight train services were suspended in late April, after China’s border town of Dandong reported Covid outbreaks, reports said at the […]
As Ukraine war grinds on, Saudi influence grows
by Robbie COREY-BOULET and Haitham EL-TABEI Agence France-Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s unexpected role in brokering the release of foreign fighters detained in Ukraine was just the latest example of how the kingdom is seeking to bolster its international standing, diplomats and analysts say. It also enables Riyadh to argue that preserving ties with Moscow -– a source of tension with Washington, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -– can be a […]
