Other News

Oscar nominees ‘grateful’ to be back in the ballroom

by Andrew MARSZAL LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Oscar nominees from Steven Spielberg and Will Smith to first-time Bhutanese director Pawo Choyning Dorji gathered at a Los Angeles ballroom Monday, as Hollywood’s award season enters its final stretch. The Academy’s glitzy annual luncheon for nominated A-listers and indie auteurs did not take place last year because of the pandemic, but returned with a starry in-person crowd of those who made the best films released […]

Sudanese women footballers tackle hurdles to play the game

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) – Sudan’s women’s football team is yet to win a match, but members say they have scored a victory by overcoming challenges including discrimination and a coup to play the game. “The girls are still taking their very first steps in international football,” said coach Salma al-Majidi, training the team that was formed just last year. A few years ago, the prospect of a Sudanese women’s national team was inconceivable, given the […]

Australia floods force tens of thousands to evacuate

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Sydney residents have been told to evacuate their homes as severe storms and flash flooding inundated swathes of Australia’s largest city Tuesday. The national weather bureau warned of “a tough 48 hours ahead” for the city, with 60,000 people subject to evacuation orders and warnings across the affected areas, according to emergency services. The death toll from a week of what officials have called “unprecedented” floods across […]

The 12 candidates standing in France’s presidential election

by Joseph Schmid PARIS, France (AFP) — France’s top constitutional authority published Monday the list of the 12 candidates registered to stand in the presidential election that begins on April 10. All the main candidates managed to muster the 500 endorsements from elected French officials needed to confirm registration by the Constitutional Council. Polls show that President Emmanuel Macron, elected in 2017, is the overwhelming favorite to come out on top in the second round […]

‘Chemical recycling’ of plastic slammed by environmental group

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Most plastic “advanced recycling” plants in the United States aren’t actually recycling plastic but instead converting it into a dirty fuel, while producing toxic waste in low-income communities, a study by a leading environmental group said Monday. Advanced recycling, also known as chemical recycling, is a relatively new technique touted by industry groups that breaks plastic down to its molecular building blocks. It is said to be able to […]

Mandatory evacuation of Filipinos in Ukraine underway as DFA raises Alert Level 4

  (Eagle News) – Mandatory evacuation of Filipinos is now underway in Ukraine as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised crisis alert level 4 for all areas in that war-torn country which is heavily being bombarded by Russian forces. The DFA issued the advisory on Monday, March 7, as around 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries to escape heavy shelling and bombarding by Russian forces in their country. Alert Level 4 is […]

Russia recruiting Syrians to fight in Ukraine, Pentagon says

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Russia is recruiting Syrians and other foreign fighters as it ramps up its assault on Ukraine, the Pentagon said Monday. Moscow entered the Syrian civil war in 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and the country has been mired in a conflict marked by urban combat for more than a decade. Now, US Department of Defense officials said, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was “on a recruiting […]

1 dead, two injured in shooting outside US high school

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — One teenager died and another two were injured outside their high school in the US state of Iowa Monday in what police say appears to have been a drive-by shooting. Des Moines police officers and fire department rescue personnel arrived at East High School, located in the center of the state capital city, around 2:48 pm (1848 GMT), the police department said in a statement. The department had “received several […]

Amazon nears climate ‘tipping point’ faster than expected

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Hammered by climate change and relentless deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is losing its capacity to recover and could irretrievably transition into savannah, with dire consequences for the region and the world, according to a study published Monday. Researchers warned that the results mean the Amazon could be approaching a so-called “tipping point” faster than previously understood. Analysing 25 years of satellite data, researchers measured for the first time […]

Odessa, pearl of the Black Sea, in Russia’s sights

PARIS, France (AFP) – Odessa, which Ukraine fears could be the next target of Russia’s offensive in the south, is the country’s main port and is vital for its economy. But the city of one million people close to the Romanian and Moldovan borders also holds a special place in the Russian imagination. A cosmopolitan port with stunning 19th-century architecture, sandy beaches and a Mediterranean climate, it has a Russian-speaking majority from its days as […]

Zelensky says Russian forces scuppering civilian evacuations

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday accused the Russian army of scuppering the evacuation of civilians through humanitarian corridors agreed after talks with Moscow. “There was an agreement on humanitarian corridors. Did that work? Russian tanks worked in its place, Russian Grads (multiple rocket launchers), Russian mines,” Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram. The Ukrainian leader said Russian forces mined the road chosen to bring food and medicine to […]

US says, may become harder to ship arms to Ukraine

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Western nations have so far been succesful in delivering arms to Ukraine, but this may become harder in the coming days, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Monday. “I think it has been extraordinary the amount of arms supplies that are getting in to Ukraine even under the most difficult of circumstances,” she told a media briefing in Madrid. “The international community has been tremendously responsive and has found […]