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by Thomas Cabral Agence France Presse PENELA, Portugal — Raging forest fires in central Portugal have killed at least 57 people, most of whom burnt to death in their cars, and injured scores of others, the government said Sunday. Nearly 600 firefighters and 160 vehicles were dispatched late Saturday to tackle the blaze, which broke out in the afternoon in the municipality of Pedrogao Grande, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Coimbra, before spreading fast […]
YOKOSUKA, Japan (AFP) — A number of missing American sailors have been found dead in flooded areas of a destroyer that collided with a container ship off Japan’s coast, the US Navy said Sunday. Seven sailors had been missing for more than 24 hours after the accident that caused heavy damage to the USS Fitzgerald, caving in part of its right side and flooding berthing spaces and the radio room. “A number of […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) –The President of Vanuatu, Baldwin Lonsdale, has died of a heart attack, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported Saturday. He was 67. Lonsdale, who sacked his government two years ago over a massive corruption scandal, passed away in the Pacific island nation’s capital of Port Vila. “National Flag is at half mast early this morning. His body is reportedly at the Vila Central Hospital,” the newspaper said. Former Vanuatu MP Sela Molisa […]
by Thomas Urbain Agence France Presse NORRISToWN, United States — A United States judge declared a mistrial Saturday in Bill Cosby’s case with the jury deadlocked on whether the disgraced star drugged and molested a woman in 2004, as prosecutors vowed to seek a retrial. It was a stunning development — and a momentary victory — for the 79-year-old pioneering black entertainer who risked spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted of […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A total of 58 people are presumed dead after the devastating fire in a London tower block, police chief Stuart Cundy told reporters on Saturday. “We’ve worked tirelessly to establish how many people we believe were in Grenfell Tower on the night and at this point in time we are unable to say that they are safe or well,” he said. “There are 58 people who we have been told […]
President Rodrigo Duterte returned to public duties Saturday after several days of absence that prompted some to speculate about the state of his health. Duterte, 72, attended a ceremony commemorating the founding of a province and later met with troops in Butuan city, both in Mindanao. Responding to questions from reporters, a jovial Duterte said: “My state of health is — what you see is what you get,” he said, adding that his last medical […]
by Harumi Ozawa and Shingo Ito Agence France Presse YOKOSUKA, Japan (AFP) — The United States and Japan were conducting a major search operation Saturday to find seven missing American sailors after their navy destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship, crushing the side of the military vessel. Planes, boats and helicopters scoured the seas off Japan’s Pacific coast in a bid to find the crew who disappeared in the predawn accident, which also left […]
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP) — Government troops have rescued a Vietnamese sailor held hostage for seven months by members of the Abu Sayyaf group in the country’s south, the military said Saturday. Hoang Vo, 28, was rescued by troops on Friday after an air strike and artillery fire on an Abu Sayyaf camp in the island of Basilan dispersed the kidnappers, regional military spokesperson Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay said. She said the sailor was being treated for an […]
Blames “soft policy toward rebels,” the “taking for granted of the arms game” (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday denied a failure of intelligence on the part of government paved the way for the situation in Marawi now. “It was not a question of failure on the part of government. We have adopted a very soft policy toward rebels,” Duterte said in his first public appearance since he took a rest for several […]
By Caesar Vallejos Kwentong kutsero, in today’s context, is fake news. Kwentong Cachero, on the other hand, is a vibrant collection of a distinctively Filipino art subject which for many years has added luster to the charm and heritage of Manila. Historian Ambeth Ocampo also wrote that the term kwentong kutsero meant false or exaggerated stories. During the old Manila (before cars, trucks and jeepneys made their appearance), a kutsero would park the kalesa (horse-drawn […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pop superstar Katy Perry has made history by becoming the first user to garner 100 million followers on Twitter, the social media platform announced. “Today we #WITNESS history,” Twitter said Friday in a tweet, referencing the title of Perry’s recently released fifth album. “Congratulations @katyperry, the first to reach 100 million followers! #LoveKaty.” The 32-year-old singer recently livestreamed her life for 96 hours, inviting fans to watch as she slept, […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — John Avildsen, the Oscar-winning director whose blockbuster films like “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid” championed the ascent of underdogs, has died. He was 81 years old. The filmmaker died of pancreatic cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing Avildsen’s eldest son. The 1976 hit “Rocky” — an adrenaline-pumping story that captures the rise of a down-and-out boxer from working-class Philadelphia — […]
