Other News

Australian arrested in Singapore after bomb threat, returned flight: police

SINGAPORE, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – An Australian passenger on a Perth-bound flight was arrested in Singapore on Thursday for criminal intimidation, police said, after the plane was escorted back to the city-state by fighter jets due to a bomb threat. Flight TR16, operated by budget carrier Scoot, departed Singapore at 4:11 pm (0811 GMT). But about one hour into the flight, “a precautionary decision was made to turn the aircraft back to Singapore due […]

Over 40% of Antarctica’s ice shelves lost mass in 25 years: study

PARIS, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – More than 40 percent of Antarctica’s ice shelves lost volume in 25 years, increasing the risk of sea levels rising and with human-induced warming the likely cause, scientists said on Thursday. Ice shelves are freshwater extensions of the ice sheets that cover much of Antarctica, floating on the seas that surround the vast and ecologically fragile continent. They act as giant “plugs” stabilising massive glaciers, slowing down the flow […]

ALERT: US to arrange flights to help citizens leave Israel: W. House

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – The White House said Thursday it was working to organize charter flights to help US citizens leave Israel as the number of confirmed American dead in the war with Hamas rose to 27. “Beginning tomorrow, (the) United States government will arrange charter flights to provide transportation from Israel to sites in Europe,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby, adding that officials were “still working through some of […]

NASA asteroid sample contains life-critical water and carbon

By Moises Avila with Issam Ahmed in Washington HOUSTON, Oct 11, 2023 (AFP) – A sample collected from the asteroid Bennu contains abundant water and carbon, NASA revealed on Wednesday, offering more evidence for the theory that life on Earth was seeded from outer space. The discovery follows a seven-year-round-trip to the distant rock as part of the OSIRIS-REx mission, which dropped off its precious payload in the Utah desert last month for painstaking scientific […]

US, Qatar to halt Iran access to $6bn fund after Hamas attack: report

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) -WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – The United States and Qatar officials have agreed to prevent Iran from using a $6 billion humanitarian assistance fund, following militant group Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, a news report said Thursday. The money had been transferred to Iranian accounts in Qatar, in a US-Iran prisoner swap deal announced in recent weeks where five US detainees were also released by Iran. But The Washington […]

Reporter Saviano fined 1,000 euros for defaming Italy PM

By Ljubomir MILASIN, Alice RITCHIE ROME, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – An Italian court on Thursday fined journalist Roberto Saviano 1,000 euros for defaming Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by criticising her stance on migrants. Saviano, best known for his international mafia bestseller “Gomorrah”, had called the far-right leader a “bastard” on national television in December 2020, when Meloni was still in opposition. His lawyer immediately said he would appeal the verdict, after a trial that […]

Blinken to visit Qatar Friday to discuss Hamas: US official

JERUSALEM, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Doha later this week to discuss Hamas with Qatari leaders amid a devastating war between Israel and the militant group. “Tomorrow, Secretary Blinken will travel to Qatar to meet with senior officials there,” a US official said Thursday. A source with knowledge of the visit told AFP that Blinken’s discussions would “focus on joint Qatari-US efforts to secure the release […]

US ‘always by your side’, Blinken tells Israel in war with Hamas

By Shaun Tandon with Adel Zaannoun in Gaza City TEL AVIV, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed unwavering US support for Israel in its war on Hamas during a visit Thursday but said the Palestinians also have “legitimate aspirations” not represented by the Islamists. Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people in Israel and took about 150 hostages in their surprise onslaught from Gaza on Saturday. Israel has retaliated by raining air […]

Israeli artillery fires on Gaza every 30 seconds

By Patrick Anidjar NETIVOT, Israel, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Like clockwork, every 30 seconds Israeli artillery goes into action against a barely visible target somewhere in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel has vowed to “crush” Hamas after gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist group stormed across the border and killed 1,200 people — the deadliest attack on the country since it was founded 75 years ago. Six days since the offensive took Israel by surprise, […]

Netanyahu shows Blinken horrific pictures of babies killed by Hamas: PM office

JERUSALEM, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday showed visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken horrific pictures of babies he said were killed by Hamas militants in Israel over the weekend. The pictures were posted by the prime minister’s office on X, formerly Twitter. One picture showed a dead baby in a body bag while the other showed the charred remains of another infant. Israel is reeling under a deadly […]

Countries evacuate citizens as Israel-Hamas war rages

PARIS, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Thousands of foreigners are stuck in Israel and across the Palestinian territories, where a full-blown war has erupted since Hamas militants launched their attack. With the violence having already claimed thousands of lives on both sides, several countries have launched operations to repatriate their citizens, while others plan to do so in the coming days. Here is an overview of ongoing and planned evacuations, according to official sources. – […]