Other News

‘It Must Have Been Love’ Roxette singer dies aged 61

by Gaël BRANCHEREAU Agence France-Presse STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — The lead singer of Swedish pop duo sensation Roxette, Marie Fredriksson, who shot to global fame in the 1990s with hits like “It Must Have Been Love”, has died aged 61 after a long fight with cancer, her manager said Tuesday. The mother of two, who died on Monday, had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2002 but went into remission and made a musical […]

President Duterte meets Filipino hero surfer Roger Casugay

(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Dec. 10, met with Filipino surfer hero Roger Casugay. The meeting took place in the Palace, days after  Casugay returned and saved Indonesian Arip Nurhidayat in the middle of the longboard surfing competition, even if he was already leading and a shoo-in for the gold. The sports event was suspended. Casugay eventually clinched the gold when the sports event resumed another day. Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has hailed Casugay […]

Pentagon suspends training of Saudis for security review

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon announced Tuesday it was temporarily suspending operational training for Saudi military students in the United States following a shooting rampage last week by a Saudi air force officer. Saudi Arabian military students in the United States will continue classroom instruction but operational training is halted pending a security review, senior Defense Department officials said. Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old lieutenant in the Saudi Royal Air Force, opened fire in […]

NEU sports official wins SEA Games bronze in Jiu-jitsu

  (Eagle News) — A ranking official of the New Era University sports department won a bronze medal in the Jiu-Jitsu Men’s 120 Kg (240 Lbs) category in the 30th South East Asia Games held at the Laus Convention Centre in Clark, Pampanga on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Peter Lawrence Meimban is part of the Philippine Team which won five golds, three silvers, and three bronze medals in Jiu-Jitsu. He fell to Noor Muhammad of Indonesia […]

Greenland ice loss faster than expected

by Bryan McManus Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The melting of Greenland’s massive ice sheet is happening much faster than expected and could put millions more people at risk by the end of the century, scientists warned Tuesday. Up to three kilometres thick (two miles) in some places, Greenland has lost 3.8 trillion tonnes of ice since 1992, enough on its own to add 10.6 millimetres (1.06 centimetres, 0.4 inches) to sea levels, according […]

New Zealand volcano still too dangerous to remove bodies

WHAKATANE, New Zealand (AFP) — The smoldering New Zealand volcano that killed at least six people is still too dangerous for emergency teams to recover bodies from, police said Wednesday, warning that many tourists who escaped the island were so badly burned they were not yet out of danger. The official death toll after Monday’s explosion on White Island climbed to six late Tuesday when another victim died in hospital. The bodies of eight more people […]

Three soldiers, 14 attackers dead in Niger camp assault

NIAMEY, Niger (AFP) — Three soldiers and 14 attackers died in an assault earlier this week on an army camp in western Niger near the border with Mali, the defense minister said. Heavily armed “terrorists” in a dozen 4×4 vehicles led the attack early Monday morning on the military post in the West African country’s Tahoua region, he said. “After two hours of intense fighting, the vigorous response of our defence and security forces enabled […]

Asian markets struggle for traction as trade concerns fester

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as investors grow nervous at the lack of news on China-US trade talks, with Washington yet to cancel tariffs on a swathe of Chinese goods planned for the weekend. With negotiators still trying to hammer out a mini agreement, the mood on trading floors remains upbeat. Most observers have been confident the two sides will eventually reach a deal, feeding a global equities rally for […]

Climate concerns put Austria glacier project on thin ice

SANKT LEONHARD IM PITZTAL, Austria (AFP) — In his office nestled in Austria’s snow-capped Pitztal valley, Eberhard Schultes is among those pushing to expand the region’s skiing sector — but environmentalists alarmed about the region’s vanishing glaciers are pushing back. Schultes is the managing director of the Pitztaler Gletscherbahnen mountain lift company, which is trying to win approval for a new ski area to connect the Pitztaler glacier to the neighbouring Oetztal formation. Even though […]

Bayern hoping to boost flagging confidence against Spurs

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) — Bayern Munich are already through to the Champions League last 16 as group winners, but interim coach Hansi Flick wants his side to beat Tottenham on Wednesday to boost their confidence after back-to-back defeats. “We need a win in front of our fans and we want to show them a good performance. That’s why tomorrow is an important step for us,” said Flick, who has been put in charge as caretaker […]

First commercial electric plane takes flight in Canada

by Alia DHARSSI Agence France-Presse VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) — The world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft took its inaugural test flight on Tuesday, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver where tall mountain peaks edge the Pacific Ocean. “This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work,” said Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of Seattle-based engineering firm magniX. The company designed the plane’s motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which ferries half […]

Tokyo stocks open flat as US tariff deadline nears

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened flat on Wednesday as investors waited for news on China-US trade talks, less than a week before Washington is due to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up just 0.07 percent or 16.46 points at 23,426.65 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.05 percent or 0.80 points at 1,719.97. “Japanese shares are seen range-bound, with eyes on US-China […]