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YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Envoys from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations arrived in Myanmar Thursday for talks with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, as the coup-stricken nation enters its fifth month of crippling unrest. Myanmar has been in chaos and its economy paralysed since the February coup, with more than 800 people killed in a brutal military crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group. Erywan Pehin Yusof, Brunei’s second minister for foreign […]
by Chris Stein WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The key US government jobs report Friday is expected to show American businesses added hundreds of thousands of jobs last month as vaccines helped the economy return to normal — but with Covid-19 still keeping some people away from the workplace, strong rehiring is no sure thing. Economists expect the Labor Department data will show the world’s largest economy added 720,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The US Air Force’s Pacific commander condemned Chinese military flights off Malaysia and Taiwan, describing them on Friday as “escalatory” and “destabilizing.” This week, 16 Chinese military aircraft flew over hotly contested waters off of Borneo prompting Malaysia’s air force to scramble its jets. General Kenneth Wilsbach said these activities and an increased number of incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone “adds to the list” of Chinese “destabilizing activities and also […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo is donating more than one million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines to Taiwan, Japan’s foreign minister announced Friday, as Taipei struggles to secure jabs, accusing China of interference. The move is likely to stir controversy with Beijing, which views democratic and self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and works to keep the island diplomatically isolated. “We have received requests from various countries and areas for the provision of vaccines,” […]
by Amal JAYASINGHE COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lanka was preparing Thursday for a possible major oil leak from the burnt-out cargo ship sinking off Colombo’s main harbour, as worsening weather stalled salvage efforts. The Marine Environment Protection Authority readied oil dispersants and skimmers in case of a leak from the MV X-Press Pearl, which had 350 tonnes of fuel oil on board when it caught fire two weeks ago. The vessel, which burned […]
by Laurence BENHAMOU MARTEL, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he planned to make “difficult” decisions this summer and again refused to confirm he will seek another five-year term in what is expected to be a hotly contested election next year. “I can’t manage this summer taking it easy,” Macron told a group of pensioners in the southern French village of Martel as part of a nationwide tour. “I’m going to […]
KARACHI, Pakistan (AFP) — The head of a Pakistani province ordered Thursday that government employees who refuse to be vaccinated against Covid-19 would not be paid from next month. Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah announced the move after meeting with health officials to discuss the first cases of the delta variant detected in the province, which includes the megacity of Karachi. “Any government employee who is not vaccinated should have their salary stopped from […]
KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — The UN’s health agency on Thursday said it had detected a surge late last month in coronavirus cases in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “An exponential rise in the spread of SARS-Cov-2 virus has been recorded in Kinshasa,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a weekly report, as a DRC health ministry official confirmed “the third wave of Covid-19 is already there — it’s the […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — A major fire that tore through an oil refinery in the Iranian capital had been brought under control on Thursday, but was still not completely extinguished. “The fire at the refinery has been brought under control and will be completely extinguished by noon,” the official IRNA news agency said, citing Shaker Khafai, spokesman for Tehran Oil Refining Company. A column of black smoke was still visible over the site of the […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy, one of the European nations hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, on Thursday opened vaccinations for everybody over the age of 12. Each region can adapt the national rules but technically anyone registered with health authorities can sign up — including teenagers, after the European Medicines Agency approved the Pfizer/BioNTech jab for 12 to 15-year-olds last week. “It’s a beautiful day,” enthused Luigi de Magistris, the mayor of Naples, saying […]
ACCRA, Ghana (AFP) — Pirates kidnapped four Koreans and one Filipino crew member from a tuna-fishing vessel close to Benin in the Gulf of Guinea earlier this week, Ghanaian police said. The Gulf of Guinea, a key shipping route extending from Senegal to Angola, accounted for the vast majority of maritime crew abductions last year, with pirates targeting commercial vessels. The Ghana-registered boat was attacked on Tuesday although the Ghana navy recovered the vessel and […]
by Elodie CUZIN WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden — who is popular with Black Americans, a voting bloc that helped him win the White House — promised to “deliver some real change” during his first term in office. While he and Kamala Harris, the country’s first Black vice president, have made some inroads, they already have encountered some stumbling blocks as well. Here is a look at Biden’s relationship with the African […]
