International

‘No use worrying’: Taiwanese tourists carry on despite China threat

by Amber Wang Agence France-Presse KINMEN, Taiwan (AFP) — Visiting Taiwan’s tiny Kinmen Islands last week, Joseph Lin practiced standing up on his paddleboard, drifting across from the Chinese city of Xiamen, where days earlier fighter jets had screamed overhead. The Taiwanese islets, just two miles from China’s coast, have become a popular tourist destination, and Beijing’s massive military drills this month failed to deter domestic visitors from jetting closer to their saber-rattling neighbor. Lin, […]

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Zelensky warns Zaporizhzhia ‘catastrophe’ would threaten whole of Europe

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — A “catastrophe” at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine would threaten the whole of Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Monday. “Under the cover of the plant, the occupiers are shelling nearby cities and communities,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “Any radiation incident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP can affect the countries of the European Union, Turkey, Georgia and countries from more distant regions. Everything depends solely on […]

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Protests as Ruto declared winner of disputed Kenya vote

by Hillary ORINDE with Nick PERRY in Kisumu and Simon VALMARY in Eldoret Agence France-Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — William Ruto was declared the winner of Kenya’s close-fought presidential poll on a day of high drama Monday, with violent protests in his defeated rival’s strongholds, claims of rigging and a split in the commission that oversaw the vote. As tensions ran high after his narrow victory in the August 9 race against Raila Odinga, the […]

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Iran says to deliver ‘final’ nuclear talks proposal Monday

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran will deliver its “final” proposal later Monday on talks to revive its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, after Washington had accepted key demands. “The American side has verbally accepted the two demands” from Iran, said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as quoted by state news agency IRNA, without specifying what the demands were. “We will send our final proposals in writing by midnight (1930 GMT)” Monday, he added. […]

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Russia defense minister discussed Ukraine nuclear plant with UN chief: Moscow

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and UN chief Antonio Guterres discussed the security situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which is currently under Moscow’s control and has been the target of fighting, Moscow said on Monday. “Sergei Shoigu conducted telephone negotiations with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the conditions for safe operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement. The plant, Europe’s […]

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US gas prices fall below $4 for first time since March

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — It’s not too late for a road trip: The US average price of gasoline at the pump has finally fallen below $4.00 a gallon, providing a bit of relief for Americans struck by massive inflation at almost every turn. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prices soared, pushing past $5.00 for the first time in mid-June, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). Falling global oil […]

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Norwegian wooden bridge collapses, 2 vehicles fall into river

OSLO, Norway (AFP) – A wooden bridge collapsed in southern Norway on Monday, sending a car and truck hurtling into a river, police said. The two-lane bridge was inaugurated in 2018 and is 148 metres (485 feet) long and 10 metres wide. It also has a pedestrian sidewalk. “Tretten bridge is reported to have collapsed. A truck and a passenger car are said to have gone into the water,” local police said in a tweet. […]

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Mechanical elephants, homemade howitzers as India turns 75

by Aishwarya KUMAR Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India marked the 75th anniversary of independence on Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving a speech from Delhi’s historic Red Fort, which was decorated with portraits of freedom fighters and guarded by mechanical elephants. Following a 21-gun salute, reportedly executed using howitzers made domestically for the first time under Modi’s “Make In India” industrial strategy, the prime minister said Indians should shed “colonialism in […]

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Egyptians mourn 41 killed in Cairo Coptic church fire

by Khaled DESOUKI Agence France-Presse CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) — Funerals were held in two Cairo churches Sunday evening for 41 victims of a fire that ripped through a Coptic Christian church during mass, forcing worshippers to jump out of windows. The blaze, blamed on an electrical fault, hit the Abu Sifin church in densely populated Imbaba, a working class district west of the Nile River, part of Giza governorate in greater Cairo. Hundreds gathered to […]

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South Korea offering large-scale aid package for North’s nukes

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday he will offer a wide-ranging aid package to the North in return for denuclearization, a deal long seen as a non-starter for Pyongyang. The proposal comes days after the North threatened to “wipe out” Seoul authorities over a recent Covid-19 outbreak and less than a month after leader Kim Jong Un said his country was “ready to mobilize” its nuclear capability in any […]

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US lawmakers to meet Taiwan president as China seethes

  by Catherine LAI Agence France Presse United States lawmakers were set to meet Taiwan’s president on Monday days after China reacted to a similar visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with huge military drills that raised fears of conflict. The unannounced two-day trip came after Beijing sent warships, missiles and jets into the waters and skies around Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China’s leaders claim and have vowed to one day seize. The five-member […]

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All systems go in Houston as NASA prepares return to Moon

HOUSTON, United States (AFP) – Rick LaBrode has worked at NASA for 37 years, but he says the American quest to return to the Moon is by far the crowning moment of his career. LaBrode is the lead flight director for Artemis 1, set to take off later this month — the first time a capsule that can carry humans will be sent to the Moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972. “This is […]

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