Other News

No US pressure behind Guatemala embassy move to Jerusalem: FM

by Edgar Calderon Agence France-Presse GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — The United States did not pressure Guatemala into announcing it will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the Central American state’s foreign minister said Wednesday. “There wasn’t any pressure. There wasn’t any overture from the United States to make this happen. This was a decision by the government, the state and the foreign policy of Guatemala,” the minister, Sandra Jovel, told a news conference in Guatemala City. […]

10 hurt in Saint Petersburg supermarket bombing

by Marina Koreneva Agence France-Presse SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia — A homemade bomb blast at a supermarket in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg injured 10 people Wednesday, officials said, sparking a probe into attempted murder. “According to preliminary information, an explosion of an unidentified object occurred in a store,” a spokeswoman for Russia’s Investigative Committee, Svetlana Petrenko, said in a statement. The blast was caused by a “homemade explosive device with the power equivalent to 200 grammes of TNT […]

Honduras opposition demands annulment of president’s re-election

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — The Honduras opposition said Wednesday they filed an appeal with election officials demanding that President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s re-election be annulled because the recent vote was marred by fraud. Election officials declared Hernandez the victor after narrowly defeating leftist opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla in the controversial November 26 vote. Nasralla conceded on December 22 shortly after Honduras’ key ally Washington endorsed Hernandez’s re-election, following a month of deadly street clashes. Former president Manuel […]

NBA: Pistons lose guard Jackson for six to eight weeks

CHICAGO, United States (AFP) — Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson has suffered a severe right ankle sprain and will miss the next six to eight weeks of the NBA season before being re-evaluated, the NBA club announced Wednesday. Jackson sustained the injury midway into the third quarter of Tuesday’s 107-83 home victory over the Indiana Pacers, immediately dropping to the court in pain. The 27-year-old backcourt standout could not put any pressure on the leg and was […]

Victims of Peru’s Fujimori rail against ex-president’s pardon

by Francisco Jara Agence France-PresseLIMA, Peru – Families of victims of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori prepared Wednesday to intensify protests against a pardon given to the ex-leader, who was serving 25 years for murder and other human rights abuses. They planned a fresh march on Thursday denouncing both the pardon and current President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who decreed Fujimori’s release on Sunday, three days after narrowly surviving impeachment on graft allegations thanks to Fujimori’s son Kenji. “This […]

NHL, New York Rangers give back to South Bronx Community

  By Tennie Sumague EBC Sports International, New York Bureau NEW YORK (Eagle News) –Preparations for the 2018 Bridgestone Winter Classic showdown between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers are underway, with the National Hockey League (NHL)  busy holding events around New York City leading to the marquee game at Citifield on New Year’s Day. As part of the Winter Classic Legacy Project, the league and the New York Rangers, in partnership with […]

Embiid, 76ers outlast Porzingis, Kanter and Knicks

  By Tennie Sumague EBC New York Bureau NEW YORK (Eagle News Service) — Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis, two of the NBA’s most promising players, faced off as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers battled against the New York Knicks. The much-hyped matchup between “the Process” and “the Unicorn” grabbed the media’s attention but it was the Knicks Enes Kanter and 76ers reserve point guard T.J. McDonnell’s performances that stole the show. McDonnell capitalized on a […]

Medical evacuations begin from besieged Syria rebel bastion

DOUMA, Syria (AFP) – Aid workers have begun evacuating emergency medical cases from Syria’s besieged rebel bastion of Eastern Ghouta, the Red Cross said on Wednesday, after months of waiting during which the United Nations said at least 16 people died. Families waited in the darkness in the rebel-held town of Douma for their loved ones to board ambulances bound for hospitals in the capital Damascus. Under a deal with the government, five workmen detained by the […]

President Duterte lambasts NPA for violating own ceasefire

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday slammed communist rebels for violating the ceasefire they themselves declared for the holidays. “Itong mga komunistang ito, hambugero. Kung magsalita, akala mo kung sino,” Duterte said, speaking in a briefing on the effects of “Vinta” in Tubod, Lanao del Norte. He noted that despite the ceasefire the rebels themselves declared, “may inatake nanaman sila.” President Duterte did not specifically say what the rebels attacked, but earlier the […]

Cambodia sends maids to HK to plug gap after abuse scandals

  PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodia sent its first batch of maids to work in Hong Kong on Wednesday, December 27, as the Asian financial hub scrambles to meet growing demand for domestic helpers after a series of abuse scandals. Hong Kong is home to more than 300,000 foreign maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. But high-profile cases of abuse and forced labor have seized global headlines in recent years and threatened to […]

Opposition lawmakers ask SC to stop one year extension of Mindanao martial law

  (Eagle News) — Opposition lawmakers belonging to the “Magnificent 7” bloc on Wednesday, December 27, filed a petition before the Supreme Court asking it to stop the implementation of the full-year extension of martial law in Mindanao, questioning its constitutionality. In a 29-page petition, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman led other opposition lawmakers in seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the high court or a writ of preliminary injunction to stop the implementation of […]

Russia loses contact with Angolan satellite — space industry source

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia has lost contact with Angosat-1, the first national telecoms satellite for Angola launched from its Baikonur space pad, a source in the space industry told AFP on Wednesday. “Contact has temporarily been lost,” the source told AFP by telephone, adding specialists were now looking into the matter. © Agence France-Presse