International

Volcano lava flow halts but many confined over toxic gas fears

LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Spain (AFP) — A Canary Islands volcano that has been erupting for over a week fell silent Monday as coastal residents were confined over toxic gas fears when the lava hits the sea. La Cumbre Vieja, which straddles a southern ridge in La Palma in the Atlantic archipelago, erupted on September 19, spewing out rivers of lava which have slowly crept towards the sea. But on Monday morning, there was no […]

Fuel ‘panic-buying’ in UK could see army to rescue

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain experienced further ‘panic-buying’ of motor fuel Monday as a shortage of lorry drivers on Covid and Brexit fallout could reportedly prompt the government to use the army to make deliveries. The Petrol Retailers Association claimed that almost half of the UK’s 8,000 fuel pumps had run out of petrol on Sunday, as desperate drivers formed long queues to fill up tanks. PRA chairman Brian Madderson told the BBC that […]

UK warship makes rare transit through Taiwan Strait

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — The Royal Navy said a British warship was sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Monday, a rare voyage by a non-US military vessel through the sensitive waterway that is likely to strain ties with Beijing. “After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea, we are now en route through the Taiwan Strait to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People’s Navy,” tweeted HMS Richmond, a frigate […]

One dead in quake on Greek island of Crete: public TV

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — A strong earthquake struck the Greek island of Crete early Monday, killing a man who was working in a church that collapsed and injuring nine others, the civil protection agency said. The quake, measuring magnitude 5.8 according to the National Observatory of Athens, struck at 0617 GMT, 23 kilometres (14 miles) from Heraklion, the capital of Greece’s largest island. The quake sent panicked residents rushing into the streets and damaged old […]

Germany’s Social Democrats win election but uncertainty beckons

by Michelle FITZPATRICK FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) — Germany braced for a period of political unpredictability Monday after the Social Democrats narrowly won a general election but faced a rival claim to power from outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative camp. Preliminary official results showed that the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) narrowly won the vote at 25.7 percent, while Merkel’s centre-right CDU-CSU bloc sunk to a historic low of 24.1 percent. The Green party placed third at […]

Sydney gets ‘blueprint for freedom’ as virus cases fall

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Vaccinated Sydney residents will finally emerge from a lengthy Covid lockdown by mid-October, Australian officials said Monday, outlining a “blueprint for freedom” as case numbers fell in the city. Stay-at-home orders are set to be lifted in Sydney and surrounding New South Wales when the double-dose vaccination rate hits 70 percent, with state premier Gladys Berejiklian saying “quite confidently” that was now expected to occur on October 11. Shuttered pubs, restaurants […]

China’s Xi warns of ‘grim’ situation with Taiwan

  TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were “grim” on Sunday, urging the island’s main opposition party to help seek “unification of the country.” China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary. Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as “inevitable.” In a congratulatory […]

Three dead, dozens injured after US train derailment

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — At least three people were killed and dozens more injured when a US train derailed Saturday afternoon in northern Montana, with rescuers rushing to safely evacuate everyone on board. Around 141 passengers and 16 crew members were traveling from Chicago towards the Pacific coast when eight of the 10 cars came off the tracks at around 4 pm (2200 GMT). “We are deeply saddened to learn local authorities are […]

France to double Covid vaccine doses for poorer countries

  PARIS, France (AFP) — France will double the number of vaccine doses it will send to poorer countries to 120 million, President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Saturday, in a video broadcast during the Global Citizen concert in Paris. “The injustice is that in other continents, obviously, vaccination is very late,” he said. “We have to go faster, stronger. “France pledges to double the number of doses it is giving,” he added. “We will pass […]

India to export 8 million Covid-19 jabs in October

  NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India will export eight million coronavirus vaccine jabs by the end of October after ending its ban on sending doses abroad, a top foreign ministry official said Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to resume exports at a meeting of leaders from the so-called Quad in Washington as India, Japan, Australia, and the US try to counter growing Chinese influence across the Asia-Pacific region. Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla […]

Catholic Church apologizes to Canada indigenous peoples for school abuses

  by Michel COMTE Agence France Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — The Catholic Church apologized “unequivocally” on Friday to Canada’s indigenous peoples for a century of abuses at church-run residential schools set up by the government to assimilate children into the mainstream. But indigenous leaders are still awaiting a mea culpa from the pope himself. “We, the Catholic Bishops of Canada, express our profound remorse and apologize unequivocally,” read a statement, in which they said […]

South Asia eyes tourism revival with eased restrictions

by Paavan MATHEMA KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Nepal has restarted visas on arrival for vaccinated tourists as South Asian nations attempt to revive tourism businesses devastated after 18 months of the pandemic. A near travel shutdown has been in place in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for more than a year as successive waves of coronavirus took a deadly toll. Nepal reopened to tourists and scrapped quarantine requirements for vaccinated foreigners on Thursday […]