Tag: Transport

Train accident in Greece kills at least 26

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — At least 26 people were killed and another 85 injured after a collision between two trains caused a derailment near the Greek city of Larissa late Tuesday night, authorities said. A fire services spokesman confirmed that three carriages skipped the tracks just before midnight after the trains — one for freight and the other carrying 350 passengers –- collided about halfway along the route between Athens and Thessaloniki. “At least 26 […]

Japan rolls out ‘humble and lovable’ delivery robots

by Natsuko FUKUE / Tomohiro OSAKI Agence France-Presse FUJISAWA, Japan (AFP) — “Excuse me, coming through,” a four-wheeled robot chirps as it dodges pedestrians on a street outside Tokyo, part of an experiment businesses hope will tackle labor shortages and rural isolation. From April, revised traffic laws will allow self-driving delivery robots to navigate streets across Japan. Proponents hope the machines could eventually help elderly people in depopulated rural areas get access to goods, while […]

Panama says Iran warships might be allowed through canal

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AFP) — Iranian naval ships will be allowed to sail through the Panama Canal as long as they abide by international norms, Panamanian authorities said Tuesday following reports that Teheran was sending vessels to the strategic waterway. An Iranian military presence in the Canal would anger the United States, which built the channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at the beginning of the 20th century, and Washington has warned that it […]

Cable sabotage cuts all traffic from busy Paris station

Paris, France | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023 One of the busiest train stations in Paris suffered a total traffic shutdown on Tuesday after vandals triggered a major signal malfunction by setting cables on fire. All traffic from Gare de l’Est, which serves routes to Germany, eastern France and is a key local train commuter hub, was cut for the entire day, operator SNCF said. A fire broke out at a signals point at around 3:00 […]

Three boys die after falling into frozen lake in UK: police

London, United Kingdom (AFP) Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died and another boy remains in critical condition after they fell into an icy lake near Birmingham, central England, police said Monday. “Three boys have tragically died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull yesterday afternoon,” West Midlands Police said in a statement. The boys suffered cardiac arrest and were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water. […]

Russian strikes cut power in much of Ukraine’s Kharkiv

Kharkiv, Ukraine | AFP | by Dave CLARK Russia fired a salvo of missiles at Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv overnight, officials said on Wednesday, hitting a railway yard and knocking out power to more than 18,000 households. Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov said Russian forces had fired S-300 missiles, an anti-aircraft weapon now often re-purposed to hit civilian targets in Ukrainian cities. The Kharkiv regional emergency service said the blasts, which were audible in the city […]

Indonesian gig drivers fear hardship after fuel price hike

by Agnes ANYA Agence France-Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Sitting on the side of a Jakarta road anxiously waiting for his phone to ping, driver Muhammad Ridwan says it is now barely worth hurtling through thick smog every day to ferry passengers. A 30 percent hike in fuel prices spurred hundreds of drivers of the most popular ride-hailing apps to hold protests across Indonesia as they struggle to make ends meet. “I sometimes don’t eat […]

Strikes bring London transport system to near halt

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Public transport workers in London held fresh strikes Friday over pay and conditions, cutting services on almost all underground and overground rail lines that link up the UK capital. The latest walkout comes during a summer of industrial action across Britain, with workers in various sectors pushing for pay rises in line with decades-high inflation and the soaring cost of living. A spokesperson for Transport for London, responsible for […]

Syria’s last traditional boat-makers keep ancient craft afloat

by Maher Al Mounes Agence France-Presse ARWAD ISLAND, Syria (AFP) — Khaled Bahlawan hammers nails into a traditional wooden boat he built by hand, toiling under the scorching sun on Syria’s Mediterranean coast to preserve a disappearing ancient skill. “We are the last family that makes wooden ships and boats in Syria,” said the 39-year-old on the shores of Arwad island, near the city of Tartus. “This is the legacy of our ancestors… We are […]

Nine dead after ferry sinks in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — At least nine bodies have been found after a ferry sank off the coast of an Indonesian island due to bad weather, a search and rescue official said Thursday. The KM Cahaya Arafah capsized in waters off Indonesia’s Ternate island on Monday evening, prompting a search and rescue operation for 13 missing people. Rescuers found four bodies on Wednesday evening and five bodies on the fourth day of the search, the […]

Gov’t to expedite release of 2nd tranche of fuel subsidies as PBBM says expansion to include tricycle drivers

  (Eagle News) – The government said that it would expedite the release of the second tranche of fuel subsidies for the transport sector, considering the continuing high prices of fuel, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Wednesday, July 5. The Finance chief also said that the distribution of the first tranche of the P6,500 fuel subsidy for public utility vehicle drivers would be finished within the week. His pronouncements came after President Ferdinand Marcos […]

Highest since Oct. 2018: PHL inflation rises to 6.1 percent due to food, transport price rise

Pres. Marcos Jr., says inflation is currently a problem everywhere, disagrees with the 6.1 percent inflation rate cited by PSA   (Eagle News) – The Philippines’ annual headline inflation reached 6.1 percent last June, considered the “highest recorded inflation since October 2018” mainly due to the rise of inflation in food and transport sector, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). But President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., believes that the inflation may not be […]