Other News
Tennis: Venus celebrates 20 years at US Open, awaits Serena return
by Jim SLATER Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Venus Williams celebrated her 20th anniversary at the US Open on Monday as the tournament celebrated 20 years of Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she claimed two of her seven Grand Slam titles. Williams was a 17-year-old upstart with beads in her hair when she rallied to defeat Latvia’s Larisa Neiland 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of the 1997 US Open in […]
UK’s Boris Johnson “outraged” by North Korea missile launch
Reuters — UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson said in a tweet late on Monday (August 28) he was “outraged” by “reckless provocation” of North Korea’s latest missile launch. North Korea fired a missile early on Tuesday that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific waters off the northern region of Hokkaido, South Korea and Japan said, in a sharp escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula. The last North Korean projectile to fly over […]
Japan PM says N. Korea missile an ‘unprecedented’ threat; calls for emergency UN meeting
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday said North Korea’s launch of a missile over its territory was an “unprecedented, serious and grave threat” as he called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. Abe vowed to enhance pressure on the nuclear-armed state as tensions spike over Pyongyang’s weapons development ambitions. “Their outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages […]
Tennis: Muguruza advances, Konta out as Sharapova returns at US Open
by Jim SLATER Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza advanced and British seventh seed Johanna Konta was ousted Monday at the US Open as Maria Sharapova’s long-awaited return to Grand Slam tennis neared. Spanish third seed Muguruza defeated American Varvara Lepchenko 6-0, 6-3 for her first triumph in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which celebrated its 20th anniversary on the first day of New York hardcourt matches. Muguruza, last […]
German team wins SpaceX Hyperloop competition with 200 mph pod
CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) — A team from the Technical University of Munich in Germany, known as WARR Hyperloop, won a competition hosted by Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Sunday (August 27) to design the fastest pod for a proposed future transportation system of giant vacuum tubes known as the “Hyperloop.” The WARR (pronounced: VAR) team’s pod traveled down the mile-long Spacex Hyperloop test track at 324 kilometers per hour (201 miles per hour). “That was […]
Boxing: Golovkin braced for difficult Vegas debut
by Greg Heakes Agence France Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Gennady Golovkin admits defending his world titles against Canelo Alvarez in his first fight in Las Vegas will be one of the most difficult bouts of his career. “It is the biggest fight of my career,” said Golovkin. “Canelo is the biggest champion and the biggest name out there.” Three-belt champion Golovkin and Alvarez will meet for middleweight supremacy at the T-Mobile Arena […]
Thousands driven from homes, 7 dead, as Harvey hammers Houston
TEXAS, United States (Reuters) — Historic flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey killed at least seven people in Texas and was expected to drive 30,000 from their homes, as officials on Monday (August 28) warned that floodwaters would likely rise in the coming days as the storm hovers over the U.S. Gulf Coast. Thousands of National Guard troops, police, rescue workers and civilians raced in helicopters, boats and special high-water trucks to rescue the hundreds of […]
Power demand to peak in Europe summers, not winters: study
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — By century’s end, climate change will likely shift the peak demand for electricity in Europe from the winters to the summers, as more people use air conditioning to stay cool, researchers said Monday. Understanding how demand for power will change in the coming decades as the planet warms is crucial in the 35 countries of Europe, which makes up the world’s third largest electricity market. “We find significant increases in […]
US confirms N. Korea launched missile over Japan
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pentagon confirmed that North Korea has launched a missile over Japan, in a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions. The missile was launched “within the last 90 minutes,” Colonel Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said around 2200 GMT Monday (6:30 am Tuesday in Pyongyang). “We assess North Korea conducted a missile launch within the last 90 minutes. We can confirm that the missile launched by […]
Japan to take ‘full steps’ to ensure public safety: Abe
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will take “full steps” to ensure the safety of its people following a North Korean missile test Tuesday that passed over the country, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. The firing comes days after Pyongyang launched three short-range missiles in what was seen as a minimal provocation after the start of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian South Korean-US joint military exercises. But Tuesday’s flight path represents a significant escalation by Pyongyang, which earlier […]
IS fighters begin evacuating Lebanon border area
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Islamic State group fighters began evacuating a Syrian-Lebanese border region Monday under an unprecedented deal to end three years of jihadist presence there, Syrian state television and Hezbollah said. The evacuation comes a week into a Lebanese army campaign against the group on the Lebanese side of the border, coinciding with a joint Syrian army and Hezbollah offensive on neighbouring Syrian territory. Under the evacuation deal, several hundred jihadists and their […]
