International

Algeria accuses Morocco of ‘assassinating’ civilians in W.Sahara

ALGIERS, Algeria (AFP) – Algeria’s special envoy for the Western Sahara on Sunday accused Morocco of “assassinations targeting civilians” outside its “internationally recognised borders”, following a recent drone attack in the disputed territory, state media reported. Moroccan authorities “carry out acts of war… and commit extrajudicial assassinations targeting civilians” in the Western Sahara, Amar Belani said, quoted by the official APS news agency. Alleged attacks have been undertaken “using sophisticated weapon systems outside (Morocco’s) internationally […]

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Beijing reports highest Covid cases since June 2020 as Olympics loom

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases for a year and a half on Sunday, as the Chinese capital gears up to host the Winter Olympics in five days. China will hold the Games in a strict “closed-loop” bubble as part of its zero-Covid strategy of targeted lockdowns, border restrictions and lengthy quarantines. The approach has helped the world’s second-largest economy keep new infections far lower than many other […]

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Top oil producers to meet amid record crude prices

by Emeline BURCKEL Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – The world’s top oil-producing countries will meet on Wednesday to discuss a further increase in output, while crude prices have reached seven-year highs rattled by geopolitical tensions. Part of their regular meetings since the Covid-19 pandemic shook markets, the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their 10 allies convene by videoconference to set output. Many analysts expect the grouping, […]

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Taliban killed 100 ex-Afghan govt officials, others: UN report

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – A United Nations report seen Sunday says the Taliban and its allies allegedly killed more than 100 former Afghan government members, security personnel and people who worked with international forces. The report, an advance copy of which was seen by AFP, describes severe curtailing of human rights by Afghanistan’s new fundamentalist rulers. In addition to the political killings, women’s rights and the right to protest have also been curbed. […]

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Deadly storm Ana strands tens of thousands in southern Africa

by Jack McBrams with Aunicio DA SILVA in Nampula Agence France-Presse LILONGWE, Malawi (AFP) – Torrential rains from deadly Tropical Storm Ana subsided on Friday leaving tens of thousands of people across three countries in southern Africa cut off by flood damage, without power and living in shelters. The death toll stood at 86 across Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi, as rescue crews battled on to access regions where roads and bridges had washed away. In […]

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Torrential rains leave at least 18 dead in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Torrential rains in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state between Friday and Sunday left at least 18 people dead, authorities said. “Since last Friday, the turmoil caused by the bad weather caused 18 deaths, including seven children and left around 500 people without homes or displaced,” said the Sao Paulo state government, citing the Civil Defense body. After flying over affected areas, governor Joao Doria announced he was releasing 15 million reales […]

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North Korea says Sunday test was Hwasong-12 missile

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea confirmed it had fired a Hwasong-12 “mid-range ballistic missile”, state media reported Monday, the first time it has tested a weapon that powerful since 2017. Seoul’s military said it had detected the launch Sunday of an intermediate-range ballistic missile — Pyongyang’s seventh weapons test in January. North Korea has never test-fired this many missiles in a calendar month before and last week threatened to abandon a nearly five-year-long […]

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Canada anti-vax protest continues as vandals spark anger

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A “Freedom Convoy” of trucks joined by thousands of demonstrators brought Ottawa to a virtual standstill for a second day Sunday to protest Canada’s vaccine mandates, as other sympathetic truckers blocked a border highway into the United States. “This afternoon, a large presence of police continues throughout the downtown core and the movement of protestors and trucks continues to be managed,” the Ottawa police said in a statement. “These high-risk situations […]

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Snow ‘bomb’ unleashes blizzard on eastern US

Blinding snow whipped up by near-hurricane force winds pummeled the eastern United States on Saturday, as one of the strongest winter storms in years triggered severe weather alerts, transport chaos and power outages across a region of some 70 million people. With multiple blizzard warnings in effect, cities like New York and Boston bore the brunt of the storm, which the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed Saturday morning had intensified into a “bomb cyclone” — […]

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Powerful winter storm slams into eastern US

A powerful winter storm packing heavy snow and high winds pummeled the US East Coast Saturday, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights as severe weather alerts were sounded across a region of around 70 million people. With blizzard warnings in effect, cities like New York and Boston bore the brunt of the storm Saturday morning, but the far-reaching system also hit the Mid-Atlantic. Freeze alerts were raised as far south as Florida, where the […]

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Thousands of flights canceled as Eastern US braces for winter storm

  NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Thousands of flights in the United States were canceled Saturday as parts of the East Coast braced for a shellacking by a powerful winter storm packing heavy snow and high winds. Places in the North East, including New York and Boston, were expected to bear the brunt of the far-reaching system, which is also predicted to pummel the Mid-Atlantic. Salt machines and snowplows were at the ready in […]

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Taiwan will not send delegation to Beijing Olympics ceremonies

  TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan will not send an official delegation to the opening or closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics due to China’s strict pandemic controls and flight disruptions, the self-ruled island’s governing body for sport said. The decision comes at a time when relations between Beijing and Taipei are at their lowest in decades with China ramping up military and economic pressure under President Xi Jinping. Taiwan’s Sports Administration said late Friday […]

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