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SYDNEY, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – A Malaysian former bodyguard convicted in the 2006 murder of a Mongolian translator has been released after eight years in Australian immigration detention, his lawyer said Monday. Sirul Azhar Umar fled Malaysia after being sentenced to hang for the gruesome slaying of Altantuya Shaariibuu, who worked as an interpreter on a $2 billion French submarine deal that was mired in allegations of corruption. Sirul has long insisted the killing […]
KYIV, Ukraine, Nov 12, 2023 (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said Ukraine should get ready for winter, fearing Russia will pick up its campaign of systematic strikes on power facilities. Repeated attacks by Moscow’s forces last year targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving thousands without heating or electricity in freezing temperatures for long periods. “We must be prepared for the possibility that the enemy may increase the number of drone or missile strikes […]
NEW DELHI, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – More children in South Asia are struggling due to severe water scarcity made worse by the impacts of climate change than anywhere else worldwide, the United Nations said Monday. “A staggering 347 million children under 18 are exposed to high or extremely high water scarcity in South Asia, the highest number among all regions in the world,” the UN children’s agency said in a report. The eight-nation region, […]
By Huw GRIFFITH SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – Like a housework-shy couple who suddenly discover the neighbors are dropping round, San Francisco is in tidying panic mode as it readies for thousands of influential APEC visitors. There are palpable efforts to spruce up the decaying downtown that in recent years has earned itself a reputation for open-air drug use, homelessness, litter and crime. Major streets have been swept clean, potholes newly repaired and […]
KATHMANDU, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – Nepal said Monday it will ban TikTok, citing the app’s negative effects on the country’s social harmony. The popular video-sharing platform, which has around one billion monthly users, has faced restrictions in many countries for allegedly breaking data rules and for its potential harmful impact on youth. “The decision to ban was made today, and relevant authorities are currently addressing the technical issues,” Minister for Communications and Information Technology […]
SEOUL, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – US and South Korean defence chiefs on Monday updated a key military agreement against nuclear-armed North Korea for the first time in a decade as they hailed their “stronger than ever” alliance. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is in Seoul for an annual security meeting with his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik, as the allies ramp up their defence cooperation in the face of growing missile and nuclear […]
BRUSSELS, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – People applying for visas to visit Europe’s Schengen area will soon do so via an online platform, under a change adopted by EU foreign ministers on Monday. The shift towards digitalisation of the visa process will also do away with the need for applicants to get a sticker in their passport, meaning no more appointments at consulates or service providers’ offices. The change, unveiled after a months-long legislative process, […]
YANGON, Myanmar, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – A Myanmar ethnic armed group has launched attacks on security force outposts in the west of the country, local media reported Monday, as the junta struggles to beat back fighting in the north. Arakan Army (AA) fighters later seized border guard bases near Rathedaung in western Rakhine state, local media cited an AA spokesman as saying. The AA has for years fought a war for the autonomy of […]
By Andrew MARSZAL LOS ANGELES, Nov 11, 2023 (AFP) – From computer-generated “extras” to AI “zombies,” new restrictions against the use of artificial intelligence in Hollywood were set out by the actors’ union Friday. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) reached a deal with studios like Disney and Netflix this week to end its nearly four-month strike. Its board members on Friday voted 86 percent in favor of ratifying the agreement. Besides a seven percent minimum […]
By Joe JACKSON, Peter HUTCHISON LONDON, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – Former UK leader David Cameron sensationally returned to the British government as foreign secretary on Monday, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shook up his top team ahead of a general election expected next year. Sunak sacked right-wing firebrand Suella Braverman as interior minister, after critics accused her of heightening tensions during weeks of contentious pro-Palestinian demonstrations and counter-protests in Britain. He replaced her with […]
By Sara HUSSEIN BANGKOK, Nov 10, 2023 (AFP) – An elusive echidna feared extinct after disappearing for six decades has been rediscovered in a remote part of Indonesia, on an expedition that also found a new kind of tree-dwelling shrimp. The Zaglossus attenboroughi, a kind of long-beaked echidna named for famed British naturalist David Attenborough, had last been seen in 1961. Echidnas are nocturnal and shy, making them difficult to find at the best of […]
