Other News

US Congress approves $4.6 bn in emergency border funding

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday bowed to pressure from President Donald Trump’s Republicans as Congress approved $4.6 billion in emergency aid to ease a swelling migrant crisis on the nation’s southern border. One day after the Senate passed the administration-backed measure, the House of Representatives followed suit with a bipartisan vote of 305 to 102 that sends the bill to the president’s desk. The emergency money would […]

Wife voices ‘concern’ for Australian missing in N. Korea

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The wife of an Australian man who has gone missing and is feared detained in North Korea said she had no hint that anything was wrong before his disappearance. Japanese Yuka Morinaga, 26, told Australia’s News Corp that Alek Sigley’s disappearance in Pyongyang was “very concerning” and there was not “anything weird” last time they spoke on Monday. Sigley, who speaks fluent Korean and is one of only a handful of Western […]

Biden assails Trump as Democrats clash in second 2020 debate

by Leila Macor, with Michael Mathes in Washington WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden attacked Donald Trump Thursday for putting Americans in a “horrible situation,” as the Democratic frontrunner faced off against his main presidential rivals who braced for a fiery debate over their competing visions for the nation. “Look, Donald Trump put us in a horrible situation,” the former vice president, as he swiftly trained his criticism on the Republican in the White […]

Duterte tells critics threatening to impeach him: “Just do it”

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte dared critics, including former Foreign Affairs chief Albert Del Rosario, to file an impeachment complaint against him as they raised the issue that he could be impeached for allowing Chinese fishermen to fish in the Philippines exclusive economic zone, including Recto Bank. Duterte, who had previously explained how it was almost impossible to prevent China from going into the country’s EEZ, said that there had been a “mutual […]

Trump on Iran tensions: There is no rush’

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) — There is “no rush” to resolve tensions between the United States and Iran that have raised fears of a military conflict, US President Donald Trump said Friday. “We have a lot of time. There’s no rush, they can take their time. There is absolutely no time pressure,” he said in Osaka, where world leaders are meeting for the G20 summit. © Agence France-Presse

Spain wildfire out of control amid Europe heatwave

TORRE DEL ESPANOL, Spain (AFP) — Hundreds of firefighters on Thursday battled an out-of-control wildfire in Spain that authorities believe started after a heap of manure self-ignited amid a European heatwave. The blaze, which broke out Wednesday afternoon in Torre del Espanol in the northeastern region of Catalonia, has so far affected more than 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres), the regional government said, an area about 19 times the size of Central Park. The flames raging […]

Piñol submits courtesy resignation to President Duterte

  (Eagle News) – Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has submitted his courtesy resignation to President Rodrigo Duterte, requesting him to “relieved” from his present position. This was revealed by Senator-elect Christopher “Bong” Go, Duterte’s former aide, on Thursday. “With the best interest of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its stakeholders in mind, may I request that I be relieved from my present position as secretary of agriculture and reassigned to whichever agency you believe […]

Lebron James gives 23 to Davis as Lakers eye NBA free agency: report

LOS ANGLES, United States (AFP) — LeBron James will give up his number 23 jersey to new Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, who will sacrifice a trade bonus to help finance NBA free agency moves, ESPN reported Thursday. James has worn number 23 during both stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and with the Lakers last season after he departed his hometown club a year ago in free agency. Davis wore number 23 for seven […]

Canadian navy ships ‘buzzed’ by Chinese warplanes

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Two Canadian naval vessels were “buzzed” by Chinese fighter jets when they sailed through the East China Sea this week, the Canadian military said Thursday. A Canadian navy helicopter was also targeted by a laser detected from a nearby fishing boat, it said in a statement. There were no injuries nor damage, but the revelations come amid heightened tensions between the two nations over Canada’s arrest of a senior telecoms executive […]

Merkel arrives at G20 after shaking scare

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived Friday at the G20 meeting in Osaka amid fears over her health after she suffered a second public bout of uncontrollable shaking in just over a week. Merkel’s plane touched down in the western Japanese city with a German government spokesman stressing: “She is doing well. Nothing is wrong.” The German leader, who turns 65 next month, sparked renewed fears for her health on the eve […]

US-led coalition says it killed 1,319 civilians in anti-IS war

  WASHINGTON D.C. (AFP) — The US-led coalition said Thursday it had unintentionally killed at least 1,319 civilians in strikes during its fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria since 2014. The figure is far lower than the death tolls given by groups that have monitored the conflict in the two countries. “The coalition conducted 34,514 strikes between August 2014 and the end of May 2019,” it said in a statement. During […]

Iran’s Zarif rejects Trump idea of short war as ‘illusion’

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday warned that US President Donald Trump was mistaken in thinking a war between their countries would not last long. “‘Short war’ with Iran is an illusion,” Zarif tweeted a day after Trump said he does not want a war with Iran but warned that if fighting did break out, it “wouldn’t last very long”. The foreign minister also tweeted: “Whoever begins war will not […]