North Korea appears to have staged a night-time military parade of a type it has used in the past to unveil new military hardware including large ballistic missiles, South Korea and other media focused on the country reported on Thursday. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the parade appeared to …
Read More »125 villagers massacred in Ethiopia’s Amhara: doctors
At least 125 villagers were massacred in Ethiopia’s Amhara region earlier this month, doctors and local officials told AFP Wednesday, but rebels from neighbouring Tigray rejected claims they were responsible. It was the latest reported mass killing in the 10-month conflict in northern Ethiopia between government forces and Tigray rebels …
Read More »Resistance leaders Massoud, Saleh still in Afghanistan’s Panjshir
Panjshiri leader Ahmad Shah Massoud and former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh have not fled Afghanistan and their resistance forces are still fighting the Taliban, the ousted Afghan government’s ambassador to Tajikistan said on Wednesday. Zahir Aghbar, envoy to Dushanbe under the government of ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, told …
Read More »Colombia campaign violence has killed 6, toll likely to rise -NGO
Violence associated with campaigning for Colombia’s 2022 presidential and legislative elections occurred every four days over the past five months, an observation group reported on Wednesday, warning that threats and killings may increase as voting draws closer. Between March 13 and Aug. 23, there were 29 violent incidents that claimed …
Read More »Algeria detains 30 people over devastating wildfires
Algeria has detained 30 people, including seven members of a separatist group that the government has declared a terrorist organisation, for involvement in wildfires that killed at least 65 people, the paramilitary police said on Wednesday. They have been placed in custody after appearing before a court following investigations over …
Read More »Treasury Reiterates Warning US Government Could Run Out of Money to Service Debt By October
The US government could run out of money as early as next month to service its debt, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, reiterating her warning that emergency measures put in place to raise cash could be exhausted soon. “Given this uncertainty, the Treasury Department is not able to …
Read More »Dozens feared missing after two ferries carrying over 100 people collide in India, one capsizes (Videos)
Two ferry boats have smashed into each other on India’s Brahmaputra River, with one of the boats capsizing immediately after the collision. The boats were reportedly carrying over 100 people, some of whom are feared missing. The accident occurred on Wednesday to the north of the city of Jorhat, located …
Read More »Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo expected to announce presidential run
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will announce a bid to become France’s first woman president on Sunday, joining a growing list of challengers to incumbent Emmanuel Macron, several MPs from her Socialist party told AFP. Hidalgo’s intention to seek France’s highest office has been an open secret for months. On Tuesday, …
Read More »Philippines’ Duterte accept 2022 vice-presidential nomination to stay in power
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday accepted his party’s nomination to run for vice president in next year’s election, forging ahead with a plan criticized by rivals as a cynical move to maintain his political power. The mercurial leader, 76, is barred by the constitution from seeking a second term …
Read More »Egyptian president calls on international community to support global green recovery
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called upon the international community, financial institutions, and the private sector to come together to spark a “green recovery” to help meet the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “A green recovery has become an urgent need, coming at the top of the government …
Read More »India restricts religious festivals over COVID-19 surge fears
Indian authorities are restricting major religious festivals that start this week and attract huge crowds, warning that a new COVID-19 wave had already begun in the financial capital Mumbai. State governments across the country of 1.3 billion people, which saw a devastating coronavirus surge in April-May, are clamping down on …
Read More »EU warns new Taliban govt not ‘inclusive and representative’
The European Union on Wednesday said the “caretaker” government unveiled by the Taliban in Afghanistan failed to honor vows from the new rulers to include different groups. “Upon initial analysis of the names announced, it does not look like the inclusive and representative formation in terms of the rich ethnic …
Read More »South Korea plans to live ‘more normally’ with COVID-19 after October
South Korea is drawing up a plan on how to live more normally with COVID-19, expecting 80 percent of adults to be fully vaccinated by late October, health authorities said on Wednesday. The country is in the middle of its worst wave of infections, but it has kept the number …
Read More »Germany skeptical about new all-male interim Taliban government
Germany’s foreign minister has responded skeptically to the Taliban’s announcement of an interim government line-up for Afghanistan. Heiko Maas released a statement on Wednesday, a day after the Taliban announced an all-male interim government. The Cabinet is stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year …
Read More »Russia emergency situations minister dies during drills in the Arctic
Russia’s Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev died during a training exercise in the Arctic, the RIA news agency cited the ministry as saying on Wednesday. The 55-year-old official, who had headed the high-profile emergencies ministry since 2018, died while saving someone’s life, it said without providing further details. “… Zinichev died …
Read More »Ex-Afghan President Ghani apologizes, regrets ‘how it ended’: statement
Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has apologized, saying he regretted “how it ended,” according to a statement released. “Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life, but I believed it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her 6 million citizens. I …
Read More »Trial of 20 men accused in 2015 Paris terrorist attacks begins in France
Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam says in court that he is a soldier of ISIS, Reuters reports. A court trial began on Wednesday into the November 2015 terrorist attacks on Paris, which left some 130 people killed and hundreds wounded when gunmen with suicide vests targeted six bars and restaurants, the …
Read More »Libyan interim PM says to visit Tunisia on Thursday amid tension
Libyan interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh said on Wednesday he would visit Tunisia Thursday and meet President Kais Saied after weeks of friction between the North African neighbors over security. Neither the Tunisian foreign ministry nor presidency were immediately available to confirm Dbeibeh’s visit. The two countries have been in …
Read More »Deadly bat caves & humanized mice tests: Released docs describe ‘HIGHEST RISK’ involved in US-funded coronavirus research in Wuhan
Documents obtained by The Intercept reveal that the US government-funded studies into coronavirus in bats in Wuhan long before the pandemic, with the proposal showing it was aware of the risk that researchers would be infected. More than 900 pages of material related to this research were published on the …
Read More »Beijing concerned about NATO’s ‘China nuclear threat theory’
China has expressed concern about NATO’s assertions about an alleged nuclear threat from Beijing, stressing that the country is not involved in any arms race and its nuclear activities are for national security purposes. “China is gravely concerned about and firmly opposes the ‘China nuclear threat theory’ NATO has been …
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