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SYDNEY, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Australians on Friday celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House, lighting up the sails of a harbourside “masterpiece” that has become an international icon. Fifty years to the day since Queen Elizabeth II opened the world’s most recognised concert hall — visited by about 11 million people a year — the Opera House will draw crowds with a nighttime laser show. Besides the party, the Opera House […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – The US ratings agency Moody’s has put the Israeli government’s A1 credit ratings on review for downgrade, citing the “unexpected and violent conflict between Israel and Hamas.” The severity of the conflict, sparked by the deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, “raises the possibility of longer lasting and material credit impact,” Moody’s said in a statement Thursday. More than 1,400 people were killed in the […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – A US Navy ship in the Red Sea on Thursday shot down missiles and drones that had been fired by Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, possibly at Israel, the Pentagon said. Three “land-attack cruise missiles and several drones” were intercepted by a destroyer, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters. The attack was “launched by Huthi forces in Yemen” potentially toward targets in Israel, he added. The ship, […]
JERUSALEM, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – Israel has threatened that every Hamas member faces death when it invades Gaza but two accused masterminds of the October 7 attacks are at the top of its hit list. Military strategist Mohammed Deif and political leader Yahya Sinwar have already spent time in Israeli or Palestinian jails and been the targets of multiple attempts to kill them. The hunt for the two most senior Hamas leaders in the […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – China is developing its nuclear arsenal faster than US projections had previously anticipated, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday. China possessed “more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 — on track to exceed previous expectations” the Department of Defense said in its annual China Military Power Report, issued annually and mandated by Congress. “We’re not trying to suggest a very large departure from where they […]
By Raziye AKKOC BRUSSELS, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – The EU announced probes Thursday into Facebook owner Meta and TikTok, seeking more details on the measures they have taken to stop the spread of “illegal content and disinformation” after the Hamas attack on Israel. The European Commission said it had sent formal requests for information to Meta and TikTok respectively in what is a first procedure launched under the EU’s new law on digital content. […]
By Frankie TAGGART WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – The US intelligence community has estimated there were likely 100 to 300 people killed in the strike at the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, according to excerpts of a document seen Thursday by AFP — far fewer than the nearly 500 deaths that health authorities in the Hamas-ruled enclave originally described. An unclassified US intelligence assessment, provided to AFP by a Capitol Hill source, estimates the […]
By David STOUT NIR OZ, Israel, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – The sound of distant air strikes, mortar fire and shelling echoed through kibbutz Nir Oz as Ron Bahat surveyed the damage at his devastated community near the border with Gaza. An estimated 25 percent of the kibbutz’s 400 residents were either killed, kidnapped or went missing in the dawn attack by Hamas militants on October 7, which targeted Israeli communities and military posts. Bahat, […]
HONG KONG, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Asian markets fell and oil prices extended gains Friday on worries that an expected ground invasion of Gaza by Israel will spark a wider conflict in the Middle East. Risk aversion was compounded by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell, who indicated a pause in interest rates at the bank’s next meeting but left open the prospect of another hike later. Traders are keeping a fearful eye on developments […]
By Amélie HERENSTEIN LES CONTAMINES, France, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – Water surged through a desolate canyon of grey rock into a blue-grey lake, an ancient landscape only revealed to humanity in recent decades because France’s glaciers have retreated so far. The rocks bore the markings of the ice and, on an unseasonably hot day in October high above the ski resort of Chamonix, experts from the Ice and Life research project were clear that […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Federal prosecutors on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to have election conspiracy charges dismissed on the grounds that he enjoys immunity for actions he took while in the White House. “No one in this country, not even the president, is above the law,” special counsel Jack Smith’s team wrote in a 54-page motion filed with the judge presiding over the landmark case. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican […]
SYDNEY, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – World number one Novak Djokovic will open his 2024 season at the mixed teams United Cup in Australia, but injury-plagued Rafael Nadal was not on the Spain team announced Friday. Djokovic will spearhead Serbia at the tournament from December 29-January 7 in Sydney and Perth as he builds towards the defence of his Australian Open title. Nadal was part of the Spain team in 2023 before injuring his hip […]
