KYIV, Ukraine, Aug 5, 2023 (AFP) – Ukraine carried out a drone strike overnight on a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait, a day after one of Moscow’s ships was hit in the Black Sea, a Ukrainian security source told AFP on Saturday. It was the latest attack around the Black Sea since Moscow exited a deal last month that had protected Ukrainian grain exports despite the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. “Overnight the (Ukrainian […]
Other News
Dozens evacuated as wildfire spreads on Spain-France border
PORTBOU, Spain, Aug 5, 2023 (AFP) – Firefighters said they evacuated more than 130 people as they fought Saturday to control a wildfire at Portbou on the Spanish border with France on the Mediterranean coast. Firefighters from Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia teamed up with French colleagues as the blaze ravaged some 435 hectares (1,100 acres) of land, with an estimated 2,500 hectares threatened. Local people were evacuated overnight from several villages as a precaution […]
US, UK scouts abandon heatwave-hit South Korean jamboree
BUAN, South Korea, Aug 5, 2023 (AFP) – American and British scouts pulled out of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea Saturday citing scorching temperatures, as organisers vowed the event would continue despite criticism of dire campsite conditions. About 43,000 people have joined the jamboree in North Jeolla province, but an extreme heatwave has seen hundreds of scouts fall ill, forcing Seoul to deploy military doctors, offer air-conditioned buses and vow an all-out effort […]
Three killed as floods, landslides caused by heavy rains hit Slovenia
LJUBLJANA, Aug 4, 2023 (AFP) – Three people have died after floods and landslides caused by heavy rains cut off access to villages and disrupted traffic in northeastern and central Slovenia, authorities said Friday. Sirens alerting citizens against flooding were sounded in the cities of Ljubljana, Maribor and Celje after the country’s environment agency issued the highest “red alert” warning due to heavy rainfall that started overnight. “Three people have died over the last 24 […]
Death toll rises to 30 in northern China floods
BEIJING, Aug 5, 2023 (AFP) – At least 10 people were killed in floods in a city near Beijing, officials said Saturday, bringing the death toll from recent torrential rains in northern China to at least 30. Officials reported the deaths in Baoding, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Beijing, adding that 18 people were missing. Storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon that hit mainland China last Friday, has brought the most severe rains to […]
Ex-PM Thaksin delays return to Thailand
BANGKOK, Aug 5, 2023 (AFP) – Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday he would delay by two weeks his return to the kingdom after 15 years of self-exile. The 74-year-old billionaire, who won two elections but was ousted in a 2006 military coup, has long said that he wished to return home — but faces multiple criminal charges that he says are politically motivated. On Saturday, Thaksin said that he would delay his […]
Portions of Edsa Bus Carousel lanes undergoing emergency repair: DOTr
(Eagle News)–Portions of the Edsa Bus Carousel lanes are undergoing emergency repair until August 9. The Department of Transportation said closed to motorists until 5 a.m. of that day, as a result, are the northbound and southbound lanes from Balintawak to Buendia Avenue. These lanes were damaged by previous typhoons and the monsoon rains in Metro Manila, the DOTr said. The DOTr advised motorists to take alternative routes. “Once completed, the (Department of Public Highways-National […]
Search and rescue ops for 4 missing PCG personnel resume
(Eagle News)–The Philippine Coast Guard has resumed search and rescue operations for its four personnel who went missing during the onslaught of “Egay.” The PCG said the Coast Guard Aviation Force deployed its CGH-1451 to look for the four PCG members who were on their way to assist the captain of vessel MTUG-Iroquois when they went missing in the Cagayan River on July 26. According to the PCG, the MTUG-Iroquois captain had suffered a heart […]
Southwest monsoon affecting western section of Luzon
(Eagle News)–The southwest monsoon is affecting the western section of Luzon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, as a result, are expected in Ilocos Region, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Abra, Benguet, Zambales, and Bataan. PAGASA said Metro Manila and the rest of the country, meanwhile, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. Extreme Northern Luzon will have strong […]
Philippines defense secretary Teodoro visits airbase used by US
The Philippines’ Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro visits the Lal-lo airport in the north of the country, which is being used as a base by both Filipino and US military aircraft carrying aid as part of a joint disaster response to Typhoon Doksuri. Lal-lo is one of the sites open for use by US troops as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement — a deal that allows US forces to rotate through and […]
India’s top court suspends Rahul Gandhi’s defamation conviction
NEW DELHI, Aug 4, 2023 (AFP) – India’s top court on Friday suspended the defamation conviction of Rahul Gandhi, a decision that could pave the way for the senior opposition politician to return to parliament after his disqualification. Gandhi, 53, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in March in a case that critics have said showed threats to the rule of law in the world’s largest democracy. He was turfed out of the legislature as […]
South Korea tightens security after series of mass stabbings
SEOUL, Aug 4, 2023 (AFP) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called on Friday for mobilising all possible forces and police announced they “won’t hesitate” to use their firearms after a series of stabbings shook the typically low-crime country. The second mass stabbing in two weeks took place Thursday in Bundang, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southeast of Seoul, when an attacker drove a car into a pedestrian walkway before attacking people at a […]





