Foreign

Canada sports minister resigns amid sexual misconduct allegations

Canada sports minister resigns amid sexual misconduct allegations

January 26, 2018, 2:52 pm

OTTAWA -- Canadian Sport and Disabilities Minister Kent Hehr announced his resignation Thursday over allegations of his sexual misconduct. Hehr said he welcomes and respects an investigation process and he will stay on as a member of parliament at the House of Commons. The allegations against Hehr… Read More

6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes off northeastern Japan

6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes off northeastern Japan

January 24, 2018, 8:39 pm

TOKYO -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 struck off northeastern Japan, at 7:51 p.m. local time (1051 GMT) Wednesday, Japan Meteorological Agency said. The temblor was centered off the coast of Aomori prefecture, with the epicenter at a latitude of 41.0 degrees north and a… Read More

Terrorist attack in Libya kills 33, injures over 70 others

Terrorist attack in Libya kills 33, injures over 70 others

January 24, 2018, 4:30 pm

MOSCOW -- At least 33 people were killed, while 71 others were injured as a result of a car bombing in Libya's northern city of Benghazi, local media reported on Wednesday. Two car bombs have been detonated with an interval of 30 minutes, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported. The incident occurred near… Read More

ASEAN set to conclude RCEP talks this year

ASEAN set to conclude RCEP talks this year

January 24, 2018, 4:29 pm

NEW DELHI -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is committed to concluding talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) this year, according to ASEAN Secretary-General Datuk Lim Jock Hoi. Hoi said the leaders of the regional bloc had mandated the RCEP talks'… Read More

Large ancient tomb groups found in China

Large ancient tomb groups found in China

January 24, 2018, 1:33 pm

SHENYANG -- Two sites of ancient tombs dating back 1,000 years were discovered in northeast China's Liaoning Province, local archaeological authorities said Wednesday. The Liao Dynasty ‎(916-1125) tombs were unearthed at a cultural relic site in Kangping County in Shenyang City, after an… Read More

2018 Andrei Stenin int’l photo contest opens

2018 Andrei Stenin int’l photo contest opens

January 24, 2018, 11:38 am

RUSSIA -- A little over three years ago, in August 2014, Rossiya Segodnya’s photojournalist Andrei Stenin was killed in Donbass while performing his professional duty. He would have turned 37 in 2017. Andrei was famous for his photographs from hotspots, such as Syria, Gaza , Egypt, Libya, Turkey… Read More

Indonesia's strong quake damages dozens of houses

Indonesia's strong quake damages dozens of houses

January 23, 2018, 7:46 pm

JAKARTA -- Dozens of houses were destroyed after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake rocked Indonesia's capital and Banten province on Tuesday, officials said here. An official of the national disaster management agency told Xinhua by phone that a total of 13 houses were damaged in Serang district of the… Read More

 48th World Economic Forum opens in Davos; Trump message much awaited

48th World Economic Forum opens in Davos; Trump message much awaited

January 23, 2018, 4:26 pm

DAVOS -- The World Economic Forum, set to kick off in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos on Tuesday, will be held amid the most impressive global economic growth over the past 10 years and a positive outlook. This year’s forum will be attended by a record high number of political leaders. More… Read More

Over 30K stranded in Japan due to heavy snow

Over 30K stranded in Japan due to heavy snow

January 23, 2018, 4:24 pm

TOKYO -- The heavy snowfall in Japan had resulted in cancellation and delay of dozens of flights that affected over 32,000 people, the Aviation Wire flights monitor said on Tuesday. According to the Aviation Wire, the Japan Airlines alone cancelled 124 domestic and 20 international flights on… Read More

 Foreign exchange market to be stable in 2018: Vietnam bank

Foreign exchange market to be stable in 2018: Vietnam bank

January 23, 2018, 3:10 pm

HÀ NỘI -- Commercial banks are optimistic about the foreign exchange market in 2018, noting that the market would be stable with the Vietnamese đồng devaluing slightly by some 0.5-1 percentage points to VNĐ22,710 to VNĐ22,950. According to the Bank for Investment and Development of Việt… Read More

15 injured as Japan’s Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane erupts

15 injured as Japan’s Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane erupts

January 23, 2018, 3:08 pm

TOKYO -- Mount Kusatsu-Shirane in Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, erupted on Tuesday morning, the weather agency said, triggering a nearby avalanche. Around 15 people were injured as a result of the eruption, local firefighters said, with four people caught up in the neighboring avalanche at… Read More

UN strongly condemns terrorist attack on Kabul hotel

UN strongly condemns terrorist attack on Kabul hotel

January 22, 2018, 1:09 pm

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Tadamichi Yamamoto have strongly condemned a terrorist attack on a hotel in Afghan capital, Kabul. In a statement released on Sunday, Guterres offered his deepest condolences to… Read More

Regional countries discuss maritime law

Regional countries discuss maritime law

January 20, 2018, 11:34 am

KHÁNH HOÀ -- Government officials and scholars from 22 countries and international organizations gathered in the central coastal city of Nha Trang on Thursday to kick off the first activity to implement the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) ministerial statement on cooperation among maritime law… Read More

Flu kills 24 people in Ireland

Flu kills 24 people in Ireland

January 19, 2018, 1:08 pm

DUBLIN -- A total of 24 people in Ireland have died from flu so far this season, local health officials said on Thursday. Dr. Kevin Kelleher, health officer of the Health Service Executive (HSE), a government-run body providing all public health services in the country, said that the majority of… Read More

NoKor confirms Winter Olympics deal with SoKor

NoKor confirms Winter Olympics deal with SoKor

January 18, 2018, 11:16 am

PYONGYANG -- North Korea on Wednesday confirmed an agreement had been reached with South Korea on "the scale and action programs" of its participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics next month. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the working level talks between North Korea and… Read More

ISS orbit to be raised by 600 meters

ISS orbit to be raised by 600 meters

January 17, 2018, 6:36 pm

MOSCOW -- The orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) would be raised by approximately 600 meters on Wednesday, a Russian Mission Control Center official said. "Engines of the Zvezda service module will be switched on for 22 seconds, according to preliminary estimates, the average height of… Read More

Myanmar plans to extradite extremists from Bangladesh

Myanmar plans to extradite extremists from Bangladesh

January 17, 2018, 5:59 pm

YANGON-- Myanmar's foreign ministry has informed Bangladesh of its possible extradition of some members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) extremist terrorists, media reports said Wednesday. According to the ministry, a list of more than 1,300 ARSA members had been sent to Bangladesh at… Read More

Yellow fever threatens Brazil: WHO

Yellow fever threatens Brazil: WHO

January 17, 2018, 5:55 pm

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning on Tuesday to foreign travelers headed to Sao Paulo state, the most populated area region in Brazil, cautioning the state was at risk for yellow fever. The warning was issued after an unusually large outbreak of the… Read More

Winter storm knocks out power across Houston

Winter storm knocks out power across Houston

January 17, 2018, 12:10 pm

HOUSTON -- Nearly 7,600 customers were without power in and around the U.S. city of Houston as major cold front dropped temperatures in southeast Texas on Tuesday, the CenterPoint Energy reported. The electric and natural gas utility, which is headquartered in Houston, Texas and is a domestic… Read More

Vietnam likely to raise retirement ages

Vietnam likely to raise retirement ages

January 16, 2018, 3:55 pm

HANOI -- The Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has proposed raising retirement ages from the current 60 to 62 for men and from 55 to 60 for women from 2021. Increasing retirement ages would ensure the balance of the timeframe, the social insurance employees' payment, and… Read More