A strong, shallow quake has rocked southwestern China near the border with Myanmar, killing at least three people and injuring at least 27 others. The Yunnan province seismological bureau gave the magnitude of the Friday night quake as 6.4. It said the tremor struck eight kilometres (five miles) below the …
Read More »Spain says over 6,500 migrants from wave of arrivals in Ceuta sent back to Morocco
More than 6,500 migrants out of the approximately 8,000 who had entered Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta earlier this week have been sent back to Morocco, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Friday. Marlaska told the Radio COPE the situation was now “normal” compared with the previous days …
Read More »Bomb blast kills 6 people at pro-Palestinian rally in Pakistan near Afghan border
A bomb blast on Friday killed six people at a pro-Palestinian rally in Southwest Pakistan, police said. The bomb, which was attached to a motorcycle, targeted the vehicle of the leader of the hardline religious party that had organized the event, local police chief Jafar Khan told Reuters by phone. …
Read More »Palestinians celebrate victory, Israelis mourn ’embarrassing’ ceasefire
Palestinians in East Jerusalem al-Quds, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip celebrated victory against Israel, as a ceasefire unilaterally declared by Tel Aviv and accepted by Palestinian resistance groups went into effect early Friday. In Gaza, which had been under heavy Israeli bombardment for 11 days, people came out …
Read More »Bangladesh puts Rohingya camps under lockdown after COVID spike
Crowded camps that are home to hundreds of thousands of refugees placed under lockdown after the alarming spread of the coronavirus. Bangladesh authorities have imposed a lockdown in five Rohingya refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh after an alarming spread of the coronavirus, officials said. The shutdown will initially last for …
Read More »New Zealand’s Ardern delivers welfare boost in annual budget as economy rebounds
New Zealand on Thursday lifted welfare benefit rates and promised billions of dollars more towards addressing rising inequality in its annual budget, as it predicted smaller deficits and faster economic recovery from COVID-19. The budget for the 2021 fiscal year allocated funds towards housing, healthcare, education, and infrastructure, while also …
Read More »‘Vaccines are satanic’: Bolivia battles fake news in inoculation drive
Bolivia’s immunization drive against COVID-19 is being hit by anti-vaccine misinformation that is stoking skepticism and leaving inoculation centers half empty, a challenge for the government facing a wave of new infections. Health workers and officials have raised concerns about low turnout at some vaccination sites, saying jabs are going …
Read More »Sanders introduces resolution to block US arms sale to Israel
Independent US Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a resolution blocking a $735 million weapons sale to Israel amid the increased Israeli aggression against Palestinians. Sanders presented the resolution to the Senate on Thursday which is similar to the one introduced by a number of Democratic lawmakers in the House of …
Read More »EU freezes China investment deal ratification until Beijing lifts sanctions
The European Parliament halted on Thursday ratification of a new investment pact with China until Beijing lifts sanctions on EU politicians, deepening a dispute in Sino-European relations and denying EU companies greater access to China. The resolution to freeze ratification passed with 599 votes in favor, 30 votes against, and …
Read More »President Putin to Russia’s foreign foes: ‘Will knock teeth out’
Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged on Thursday that some of the country’s foreign foes dream about biting off pieces of the country’s vast territory, warning that Moscow would “knock their teeth out” if they ever try. In strong remarks during a conference call with officials, the Russian president noted that …
Read More »Roadside bombings in southern and central Afghanistan kill 13 people, says official
Roadside bombings in southern and central Afghanistan killed 13 people, including nine members of one family, officials said Thursday. Meanwhile, militants stopped a bus in western Afghanistan, ordered three men to get out, and shot and killed them. No one has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. The three men …
Read More »Ethiopia to hold delayed elections on June 21 – vote board
Ethiopia’s twice-delayed national and regional elections will now take place on June 21, but security and logistical problems will delay voting still further in some areas, organisers said on Thursday. The announcement that officials had been unable to hold voter registration in some hotspots thrusts a spotlight on the frequent …
Read More »Hungary to block EU’s Africa-Pacific trade and development deal
Hungary cannot approve a new European Union trade and development accord with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries because it would bring more migrants into the bloc, the country’s foreign minister said on Thursday. Budapest’s refusal to ratify the accord with 79 countries, which was agreed by EU negotiators in December, …
Read More »Rouhani | JCPOA parties in agreement over removal of all main sanctions
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the parties in Vienna talks have accepted to remove all main sanctions targeting the country’s oil, petrochemical, shipping, and insurance sectors as well as the Central Bank of Iran. “We have taken the main big step, and the primary agreement has been reached,” Rouhani said …
Read More »Bus overturns on highway in Pakistan, 13 passengers killed
A speeding bus overturned on a highway in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 13 passengers and injuring 29 others, police said. The bus was traveling from the port city of Karachi to Peshawar in the northwest when the accident took place in the district of Sukkur in southern …
Read More »China says US warship illegally enters its territory in South China Sea
China said on Thursday a US warship had illegally entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea, the latest salvo in the two nations’ dispute over Beijing’s territorial claims in the busy waterway. In a statement, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said the USS Curtis Wilbur entered the …
Read More »Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader ‘badly wounded’ after clash with rival group: Sources
Nigerian Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has been seriously wounded after trying to kill himself to avoid capture during clashes with rival ISIS-allied militants in the north of the country, two intelligence sources said on Thursday. Shekau’s Boko Haram faction and fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province had …
Read More »Hundreds evacuated in Greece as fire rages through the countryside in Corinth region
Greek authorities have evacuated around 300 people from their homes as a fire, which broke out on Wednesday night near a seaside resort on the Peloponnese peninsula, spread to surrounding villages. No deaths have been reported but police spokesman Theodoros Chronopoulos told Reuters on Thursday that 300 people had been …
Read More »Panama says will temporarily close border with Colombia over COVID-19 risk
Panama will temporarily close its border with Colombia beginning Thursday to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and tighten security, its government said, after Colombia reopened the land and maritime crossings on the border. Panama’s government said Colombia’s decision to reopen the borders “puts at risk the significant progress” that Panama …
Read More »Italian police seize weapons, Nazi flags from a far-right group
Italian police said they found weapons, Nazi flags, and pictures of dictator Benito Mussolini in the homes of the members of a white supremacist movement who were trying to build a new fascist party. Officers searched the homes of 25 people belonging to the ‘Last Legion’ group on Thursday on …
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