International

US approves $1.1 billion in arms for Taiwan, angering China

  by Shaun TANDON Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Friday announced a $1.1 billion arms package for Taiwan, vowing to keep boosting the island’s defenses as tensions soar with Beijing, which warned Washington of “counter-measures.” The sale comes a month after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defiantly visited the self-governing democracy, prompting mainland China to launch a show of force that could be a trial run for a future […]

Russians bid to farewell to Gorbachev, but without Putin

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will be laid to rest Saturday in a Moscow ceremony, but without the fanfare of a state funeral and with the glaring absence of President Vladimir Putin. With Russia isolated by its military campaign in Ukraine, no foreign leaders are expected to attend what will be a relatively low-key affair to remember one of the great political figures of the 20th century. Gorbachev — affectionately […]

Wildfire rages as California bakes under heat dome

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – Hundreds of firefighters endured triple-digit temperatures Thursday battling against a wildfire along a major highway, as the western United States bakes under a fearsome heat dome. Super Scooper water-spraying aircraft were assisting the attack on the 5,000 acre (2,000 hectare) blaze that took hold of a swath of countryside near Los Angeles in California. Seven firefighters had to be taken to hospital after suffering heat-related injuries in their bid […]

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi sentenced to three years for electoral fraud: source

  YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — A Myanmar junta court sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in jail on Friday for electoral fraud over 2020 polls which her party won in a landslide. Suu Kyi was “sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour”, a source with knowledge of the case said, adding that the Nobel laureate, 77, appeared to be in good health. Detained since a putsch last year, Suu Kyi […]

‘All dead’: the Munich Olympics massacre 50 years ago

by Pascale JUILLIARD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — September 5, 1972: Palestinian gunmen storm the Olympic Village at the Summer Games in Munich and take a group of Israeli athletes hostage, triggering a standoff that ends in a massacre. AFP was the first news outlet to report on the tragic climax of the attack that shocked the world 50 years ago. Here’s a look at how it unfolded. – ‘Games of Peace and Joy’ […]

Man arrested for pointing gun at Argentine VP Kirchner: official

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — A man was arrested in Argentina on Thursday for pointing a gun at Vice President Cristina Kirchner, security minister Anibal Fernandez said. Several television channels broadcast footage of the man aiming a gun at the vice president’s head from close range as she was getting out of the car that was taking her home in Buenos Aires. Fernandez said the forensic police personnel would now analyze fingerprints to obtain more […]

US says latest Iran response on nuclear deal ‘not constructive’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said Thursday it had received a new response from Iran on reviving a nuclear deal but that it was not “constructive.” It is the latest in a back and forth between the adversaries via mediators from the European Union, whose foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Wednesday had hoped for a resolution within days to revive the 2015 nuclear accord. The European Union put forward on August […]

Biden slams Trump ‘extremist’ assault on democracy

by Jim WATSON / with Aurelia END in Washington Agence France-Presse PHILADELPHIA, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden took fierce aim Thursday at Donald Trump and his “extremist” supporters, labeling them enemies of American democracy in a prime-time address that sought to fire up voters ahead of key midterm elections. Speaking in Philadelphia, the cradle of US democracy, the president launched an extraordinary assault on those Republicans who embrace Trump’s “Make America Great […]

Three dead of mystery pneumonia in Argentina, six others ill

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — A third person has died this week in Argentina from a type of pneumonia of unknown origin, with the fatalities thus far limited to a single clinic, health authorities said Thursday. Nine people in northwestern Tucuman province have come down with a mysterious respiratory illness, including eight medical staff at the private clinic, Tucuman health minister Luis Medina Ruiz told reporters. Three — two health personnel and now also a […]

IAEA chief says integrity of Ukraine nuclear plant ‘violated’

Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (AFP) by Stanislav DOSHCHITSYN The head of the UN nuclear agency on Thursday said the “physical integrity” of a Russian-held Ukrainian nuclear plant had been “violated” following frequent shelling, on his team’s first visit to the facility. Russian forces seized control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest, and the surrounding region shortly after the February 24 invasion. Both sides have traded blame for recent shelling near the plant lying […]

Sexual assaults in US military reach new record

Washington, United States (AFP) The number of sexual assaults in the US military increased by 13 percent in fiscal year 2021, reaching a record high, according to an annual report published Thursday by the Pentagon. The Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPR) said there were 8,866 reported assaults “involving service members as either victims or subjects” in the year to September 30, 2021, compared to 7,813 the previous year. But only […]

Putin visits Baltic exclave Kaliningrad as tensions with EU soar

Moscow, Russia (AFP) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday was in Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between NATO member countries, with tensions soaring between Moscow and the EU over fighting in Ukraine. As part of his visit, Putin met with Kaliningrad school students to mark the start of the school year, answering questions on topics ranging from the economy, space exploration and Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine. “The mission of our soldiers… is to stop this […]