Tag: Transport

50 dead in boat accident in northwest DR Congo

  MBANDAKA, DR Congo (AFP) — Fifty people died in a boat accident on a river in remote northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), officials said on Friday. The accident happened on the Momboyo river Wednesday night, Richard Mboyo Iluka, vice governor of Tshuapa province, told AFP, saying: “We found 49 bodies on Thursday and another one this morning.” The boat had been transporting passengers and a large amount of goods from the town of […]

UPDATED: Two dead, 20 injured after train smashes into truck in Italy

  ROME, Italy (AFP) — Two people were killed and 20 others injured after a train crashed into a rig truck near the northern Italian city of Turin and derailed, Italian media said Thursday. The incident occurred late Wednesday when the train hit a large truck that had stopped on a level crossing near the town of Caluso, causing three carriages to come off the rails. “At 11:20 pm (2120 GMT) the regional train 10027 Turin-Ivrea […]

Pedal power: the rise of cargo bikes in Germany

by Coralie Febvre Agence France Presse BERLIN, Berlin (AFP) — Whether they’re hauling parcels or children, cargo bikes are becoming a familiar sight in German cities as the nippy, clean alternative to cars and delivery vans — and shaking up urban transport in the process. A desire to go green has been key to the rise of cargo bikes in a country where dozens of smog-choked cities are considering diesel driving bans to combat air […]

Thessaloniki subway dig unearths secrets of ‘city under the city’

  by John Hadoulis / Vassilis Kyriakoulis  © Agence France-Presse THESSALONIKI, Greece (AFP) — Shovels and brooms in hand, some two dozen workmen trudge around the remains of an ancient villa, deep beneath the bustle of modern-day Thessaloniki. Suddenly, one of them breaks away to deliver the latest find — a small clay head of a hook-nosed, bearded man with an ugly grin. “Probably a votive offering,” notes the junior archaeologist on duty. A 15-year subway […]

US gives boats to Vietnam amid South China Sea tensions

HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — The US delivered six patrol boats and equipment worth a combined $20 million to Vietnam, the US embassy in Hanoi said Thursday, as the former foes boost ties amid continuing tensions in the South China Sea. Hanoi and Washington have improved defense links in recent years as they seek to counter Beijing’s growing might in the disputed and resource-rich waterway. The US Coast Guard gave its Vietnamese counterpart six fast-response Metal […]

Uber exits SE Asia in new retreat from global markets; Grab takes over

  by Sam Reeves Agence France Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Uber sold its Southeast Asian business to rival Grab on Monday, ending a bruising battle between the ride-hailing behemoths and marking the US firm’s latest retreat from international markets. Singapore-based Grab is taking over the ride-sharing and food delivery operations of Uber in the region, with the California-headquartered company to receive a 27.5 percent stake in the business in return. The sale is Uber’s […]

Hong Kong police probe deadly bus accident

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong police said Sunday they were investigating a deadly bus accident that left 19 people dead and scores more injured, with the bus driver arrested for dangerous driving. The double-decker bus overturned Saturday evening near the town of Tai Po in the northern New Territories, flipping onto its side and appearing to smash into a lamppost. Nineteen people were killed and 65 people were injured, some critically, according to local police. […]

Waymo vs Uber trade secrets trial at starting line

by Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — A billion-dollar trial pitting Alphabet-owned autonomous driving unit Waymo against Uber starts Monday, in what could be a blockbuster case between two technology giants over the alleged theft of trade secrets. The San Francisco courtroom battle will take place as Waymo and Uber race to perfect self-driving cars that people could summon for rides as desired in a turn away from car ownership. The […]

Deadliest bus accidents in the past five years

PARIS, France (AFP) — The bus fire in Kazakhstan in which 52 people were killed Thursday is among of the deadliest bus accidents in the world over the past five years. Here are some of the others. 2018 Peru: Fifty-two people die in January when a bus plunges 100 meters (330 feet) over a seaside cliff after colliding with a truck on a precarious stretch of road known as the “devil’s curve.” The accident is […]

52 people killed in Kazakhstan bus fire

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Fifty-two people were killed Thursday when the bus they were traveling on caught fire in Kazakhstan, the central Asian nation’s emergency services ministry said in a statement. “On January 18 at 10:30 am (0430 GMT), a bus caught fire … 55 passengers and two drivers were on board. Five people who managed to escape are receiving medical assistance. The rest died on the spot,” the ministry said, without elaborating on the […]

Turkey unveils route of 45 km ‘Istanbul Canal’

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — The Turkish government on Monday unveiled the route of its planned new canal for Istanbul, a hugely ambitious 45 kilometre (28 miles) project designed to be its answer to the famed artificial shipping lanes in Panama or Egypt’s Suez. The project, first announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while he was prime minister in 2011, is by far the most complex of a string of new ventures for the city. The […]

Beyond the car: how tech firms are exploring the future of transport

by Glenn Chapman Agence France-Presse LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) — Carless commuting is cruising in the fast lane at the Consumer Electronics Show, with companies showing off electric bicycles, scooters, skateboards and more aimed at making the internal combustion engine a thing of the past. As the ranks of people around the world living in cities have grown, so too has the cost of car ownership as well as traffic congestion. Nowhere was this […]