Karangasem, Indonesia | AFP | A rumbling volcano on the resort island of Bali could erupt at any moment, authorities warned Monday as they raised alert levels to maximum, accelerated a mass evacuation and closed the main airport, leaving tourists stranded. Massive columns of thick grey smoke that have been …
Read More »Pope arrives in Myanmar on high-stakes visit
Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Pope Francis arrived in mainly Buddhist Myanmar Monday on a highly sensitive visit to a country facing sharp global criticism for the alleged ethnic cleansing of its Rohingya Muslim minority. The 80-year-old pontiff, the first to travel to Myanmar, was welcomed by children from different …
Read More »Saudi vows new Islamic alliance ‘will wipe terrorists from the earth’
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s crown prince vowed to “pursue terrorists until they are wiped from the face of the earth” as officials from 40 Muslim countries gathered Sunday in the first meeting of an Islamic counter-terrorism alliance. “In past years, terrorism has been functioning in all of …
Read More »Pope heads to Myanmar and into Rohingya crisis
Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis set off Sunday on his 21st and possibly most delicate overseas trip yet, a six-day visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh against the backdrop of the unfolding Rohingya refugee crisis. The 80-year-old pontiff’s plane left Rome en route for Yangon, Myanmar’s main city, shortly …
Read More »South Africa’s new export is Miss Universe
Las Vegas, United States | AFP | Beauties from across the globe converged in Las Vegas Sunday, where Miss South Africa was crowned Miss Universe. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, 22, edged out her rivals from Colombia and Jamaica to take the crown. Nel-Peters, a graduate in business management, said her disabled half-sister has …
Read More »Iran earthquake death toll rises to 483
Tehran, Iran | AFP | The number of dead in a major earthquake that hit Iran’s western province of Kermanshah this month has risen to 483, official news agency IRNA said. The rise from a previous toll of 436 reported last week came after some people died from their injuries …
Read More »Forty injured as Spain nightclub floor collapses
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Forty people were injured after a section of floor at a packed nightclub on Spain’s holiday island of Tenerife collapsed Sunday, sending revellers plunging into the basement, officials said. Rescuers rushed to the Butterfly Disco Club in Adeje at about 2:30 am (0230 GMT) after …
Read More »Brexit without EU trade deal ‘not end of world’: WTO chief
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Sunday it would not be “the end of the world” if Britain failed to reach a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, but there would be costs. Roberto Azevedo told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that …
Read More »UN says 11 million Yemen children desperately need aid
Amman, Jordan | AFP | More than 11 million children in war-torn Yemen are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, the United Nations children’s fund warned on Sunday. “Today it is fair to say that Yemen is one of the worst places on earth to be a child,” said Geert …
Read More »Trump renews support for embattled Senate candidate
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Sunday redoubled his support for embattled Senate candidate Roy Moore, ignoring the allegations of sexual harassment plaguing Moore’s Alabama campaign and branding his opponent as weak on crime, the military and immigration. In an early-morning tweet, Trump added that for …
Read More »