Firefighters have contained a large blaze that erupted in a cargo area of the Sudanese Red Sea port of Suakin, the port’s director said Thursday. The fire, which raged for hours, broke out in the cargo drop off area of the port on Wednesday sending plumes of acrid smoke into the sky. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze. “The fire has been brought under control following the intervention of civil defence […]
International
Western powers sound alarm on China plan for South Pacific
Western powers sounded the alarm Thursday over leaked plans to dramatically expand China’s security and economic reach in the South Pacific, in what one regional leader called a thinly veiled effort to lock island states into “Beijing’s orbit”. If approved by Pacific island nations, the wide-ranging draft agreement and a five-year plan, both obtained by AFP, would give China a larger security footprint in a region seen as crucial to the interests of the United […]
‘How to murder your husband’ writer found guilty of killing spouse
A US romance novelist who wrote an essay entitled “How To Murder Your Husband” has been convicted of killing her spouse. A jury in Portland, Oregon, took just eight hours on Wednesday to return a guilty verdict against Nancy Crampton Brophy for shooting dead Daniel Brophy. Prosecutors said the writer, whose “Wrong Never Felt So Right” series of novels include “The Wrong Husband” and “The Wrong Lover,” had been struggling financially before she shot […]
Australia bidding to host UN climate summit, set new emissions target
Australia will present a more ambitious UN emissions target “very soon” and is bidding to co-host a COP summit with Pacific island neighbours, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday, signalling a ground shift in climate policy. During a first solo overseas visit since her centre-left government was sworn in, Wong admitted that on the climate, “Australia has neglected its responsibility” under past administrations. She told hosts in Fiji’s capital Suva that there would be no […]
11 babies killed in Senegal hospital fire
by Malick Rokhy BA Eleven newborn babies died in a hospital fire in the western Senegalese city of Tivaouane, the president of the country said late Wednesday. Just before midnight in Senegal, Macky Sall announced on Twitter that 11 infants had died in the blaze. “I have just learned with pain and dismay about the deaths of 11 newborn babies in the fire at the neonatal department of the public hospital,” he tweeted. “To their […]
China premier issues warning on Covid-hit economy
by Beiyi SEOW China’s premier has sounded an unusually stark warning about the world’s second-largest economy, saying it must return to normal as the country’s zero-Covid strategy bites into growth. China is the last major economy welded to a policy of mass testing and hard lockdowns to eliminate virus clusters, but the strict curbs have battered businesses. Restrictions around the nation in recent months — including on the manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen and Shanghai as […]
Hundreds stranded after ransomware attack on Indian airline
Hundreds of Indian air travellers were stranded inside their planes after the low-cost airline SpiceJet cancelled or delayed flights due to an “attempted ransomware attack”, the company has said. Many angry passengers, some of whom were left waiting inside their planes for up to five hours earlier this week, complained about a lack of communication from the budget carrier. “Certain SpiceJet systems faced an attempted ransomware attack last night that impacted our flight operations,” the […]
Marcos says Philippines to uphold South China Sea ruling
by Mikhail FLORES Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Thursday he would uphold an international ruling against Beijing over the disputed South China Sea, insisting he would not let China trample on Manila’s maritime rights. China claims almost all of the resource-rich waterway, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, with competing claims from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Beijing has ignored a 2016 decision by The Hague-based Permanent Court […]
Grief turns to anger after gunman murders 21 at Texas school
by Michael Mathes / Gerard MARTINEZ Grief at the massacre of 19 small children at an elementary school in Texas spilled into confrontation Wednesday, as angry questions mounted over gun control — and whether this latest tragedy could have been prevented. The tight-knit Latino community of Uvalde on Tuesday became the site of America’s worst school shooting in a decade, committed by a disturbed 18-year-old armed with a legally bought assault rifle. Wrenching details have […]
Zelensky rebukes West as Russia closes in on key Ukraine city
by Charlotte Plantive with David Stout in Mykolaiv © Agence France-Presse Kyiv, UKRAINE (AFP) — Fierce battles raged in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with Russian troops on the verge of encircling a key industrial city, as President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a bitter rebuke of the West for not doing enough to help Kyiv win the war. Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday described fighting outside of the industrial city of Severodonetsk, a key military goal […]
US to urge tougher sanctions after North Korea fires likely ICBM
by Sunghee Hwang and Kang Jin-kyu © Agence France-Presse Seoul, SOUTH KOREA (AFP) — The United States said Wednesday it would seek new sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations after Kim Jong Un’s regime fired a volley of missiles, including possibly its largest intercontinental ballistic missile. The launch came just hours after US President Joe Biden left Asia following a trip overshadowed by Pyongyang’s saber-rattling. North Korea has also been conducting “operational tests” […]
Putin fast-tracks Russian citizenship for residents of southern Ukraine
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a decree simplifying a procedure to obtain a Russian passport for residents of the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The southern region of Kherson is under the full control of Russian troops, while the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia is partially controlled by Moscow. Moscow and pro-Moscow officials have said both regions could become part of Russia. The official order published Wednesday came […]





