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KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) – Kuwaiti women are angry after the military, having allowed female soldiers in combat roles, decided they need the permission of a male guardian and banned them from carrying weapons. Activists have decried the policy as “one step forward, two steps back” after the defence ministry also decided that women in the armed forces, unlike civilians, must wear head coverings. The moves have sparked an online backlash in Kuwait, usually regarded […]
by Louis GENOT / Florian PLAUCHEUR Agence France Presse PETRÓPOLIS, Brazil (AFP) — Rescue workers raced against the clock Wednesday searching for any remaining survivors among mud and wreckage after devastating flash floods and landslides hit the picturesque Brazilian city of Petropolis, killing at least 94 people. Streets were turned into torrential rivers and houses swept away Tuesday when heavy storms dumped a month’s worth of rain in three hours on the scenic tourist town […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia on Thursday said it would list all of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the latest Western nation to do so. Canberra had previously listed Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades as a terror group, but the new designation will list the organisation in its entirety. Hamas currently controls the Gaza Strip, has vowed to “liberate” Jerusalem by force and has frequently carried out attacks on Israeli targets. “The views of […]
by Aurélia END with David CLARK in Kyiv Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The United States on Wednesday dismissed reports that Russia was withdrawing troops from Ukraine’s border, instead accusing Moscow of sending more soldiers as fears of an invasion grow. Russia has increased its presence on the border with Ukraine by “as many as 7,000 troops,” some of whom arrived Wednesday, said a senior White House official, slamming Moscow’s announcement of […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for Hong Kong to take “all necessary measures” to control an Omicron-fuelled Covid-19 outbreak, Beijing-affiliated newspapers in the city said Wednesday, a day after leader Carrie Lam ruled out a China-style hard lockdown. Hong Kong is currently in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering over a thousand confirmed cases a day as hospitals reach their breaking point. Lam this week insisted a […]
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck western Guatemala early Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said. The epicenter of the quake, which had a depth of 84 kilometers (52 miles), was just under 100 kilometers southwest of the capital, Guatemala City. The Central American country is in a risk zone for earthquakes, located at a meeting point of three tectonic plates. © Agence France-Presse
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – Russia on Wednesday said military drills in Moscow-annexed Crimea had ended and that soldiers were returning to their garrisons, a day after it announced a first troop pullback from Ukraine’s borders. “Units of the Southern Military District, having completed their participation in tactical exercises, are moving to their permanent deployment points,” Moscow’s defence ministry said in a statement. State television showed images of military units crossing a bridge linking the Russia-controlled […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea marked the 80th birthday of leader Kim Jong Un’s late father with a mass outdoor meeting in sub-zero temperatures, state media reported Wednesday, but no missiles or military parade. Kim was joined by top officials in celebrating the “Day of the Shining Star” in snowy Samjiyon, a city near Mt Paektu, where official narratives say Kim Jong Il was born in a secret guerilla camp on February 16. […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Landslides and flooding triggered by heavy rainfall killed at least 18 people Tuesday in a tourist town in the hills above Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian firefighters said. “So far, 18 deaths caused by landslides and floods have been confirmed” in recent hours, the Rio de Janeiro Fire Department said in a statement. It said more than 180 firefighters and other rescue workers were at the scene in the picturesque […]
by Peter HUTCHISON Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting have reached a $73 million settlement with US gunmaker Remington, in a landmark deal for a country traumatized by campus massacres. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the settlement marks the first time a gun maker has been held liable for a mass shooting in the United States. Twenty-six children and teachers were shot dead […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UK’s unemployment rate remained steady at the end of last year despite the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, official data showed on Tuesday. The figure stood at 4.1 percent in the three-month period ending in December, the same as the previous quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics. The rate was lower than the period ending in September when it was at 4.3 percent, but […]
BANDUNG, Indonesia (AFP) – An Indonesian court Tuesday sentenced a teacher to life in prison for the rape of 13 students, in a case that has drawn national attention to sexual abuse in the country’s religious boarding schools. Bandung district court in West Java found Herry Wirawan guilty of raping 13 female students, all minors, and impregnating at least eight of them. During the trial, it was revealed he had raped the children — many […]
