Foreign
Japan's ruling camp wins two-thirds majority in lower house election
October 23, 2017, 1:13 pm
TOKYO -- Japan's ruling camp grouped by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner, the Komeito Party, has won a two-thirds "super majority" in Sunday's lower house election, according to vote counting results reported by public broadcaster NHK. As of 01:50… Read More
Carter offers to travel to N. Korea for peace talks
October 22, 2017, 6:57 pm
MOSCOW -- If the United States is in need of a peacemaker in the country's talks with North Korea, former US President Jimmy Carter has volunteered for the job. Carter told The New York Times on Saturday that he would be ready to travel to North Korea for peace talks if there was a need, but the… Read More
5 ex-US presidents appear together for hurricane aid
October 22, 2017, 3:28 pm
HOUSTON -- All five living former United States presidents took to the stage Saturday night at a benefit concert here to raise funds for the victims of recent hurricanes that hit various parts of the country. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and… Read More
Japan's lower house election kicks off
October 22, 2017, 2:23 pm
TOKYO -- Japanese voters went to the polls on Sunday as the election of the Japanese parliament's House of Representatives or the lower house kicked off. The vote will see whether the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) coalition could win two-thirds "super majority" to revise the constitution… Read More
US billionaire launches campaign to impeach Trump
October 22, 2017, 2:17 pm
LOS ANGELES -- US billionaire Tom Steyer of California kicked off an online and TV advertising campaign against President Donald Trump Friday, calling for people to write letters to Congress members for the president's impeachment. In a one-minute-long video ad posted on Youtube, Steyer calmly… Read More
Russian warships arrive in Manila
October 20, 2017, 3:08 pm
MOSCOW -- Russian Pacific Fleet’s warships arrived at the capital of the Philippines -- Manila -- for a visit as part of the military cooperation program between two countries, Russia’s Pacific Fleet spokesman Captain 2nd Rank Nikolai Voskresensky said. "A group of the Pacific Fleet’s big… Read More
Mogadishu explosion death toll rises to 85
October 15, 2017, 8:23 pm
MOSCOW -- The death toll from Saturday's blast in the Somali capital has risen from 40 in previous reports to 85. No terror group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. At least 85 people were killed and 250 injured in a recent explosion in Mogadishu, media said Sunday, citing city's… Read More
California wildfires now worst in state history as death toll climbs
October 15, 2017, 12:41 pm
MOSCOW -- Raging wildfires continued to incinerate vast sections of California's wine county on Saturday, turning thousands of houses into ash. The disastrous blazes have claimed at least 38 lives, forcing reportedly nearly 100,000 people to evacuate their homes. Gusts of strong wind have fanned… Read More
Death toll from floods, landslide in Vietnam surges to 60
October 15, 2017, 12:26 pm
HANOI -- Landslides and floods caused by torrential rain this week in Vietnam's northern and central regions have killed 60, left 37 missing and injured 31 others, the country's Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said on Sunday. The victims included 20 people in… Read More
US withdrawal from UNESCO indicates growing Washington's isolation
October 13, 2017, 6:05 pm
WASHINGTON -- The decision by the Trump administration to withdraw the United States from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the latest sign of growing US isolation around the world and of Washington’s pattern of bullying the United Nations, analysts… Read More
California guv visits wildfires-hit areas as death toll climbs to 29
October 13, 2017, 10:24 am
SAN FRANCISCO -- California Governor Jerry Brown offered his sympathy Thursday to the victims of wildfires that are ravaging the state, and would visit the affected areas soon, as the death toll hit a new high of 29, local media reports said. The reports quoted his spokesman Evan Westrup as… Read More
Aussie sets new English-language standards for international students
October 12, 2017, 4:35 pm
SYDNEY -- International students in Australia will have to meet new English-language standards next year to help ensure that they are ready for tertiary education, according to Australian media reports. The English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students will be used to gauge direct entry… Read More
Trump threatens to revoke licenses of major media networks
October 12, 2017, 3:45 pm
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has threatened to take major American news networks off the air over a story about his nuclear policy, accusing them of indulging in spreading "fake news". Trump and his aides have repeatedly used the term "fake news" to cast doubt on critical media reports,… Read More
California places 5 more counties under state of emergency
October 10, 2017, 4:23 pm
LOS ANGELES -- California Governor Jerry Brown Monday evening issued an emergency order for five more counties affected by wildfires erupted Sunday night. The proclamation released by the Governor' s office said Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada and Orange counties were kept in state of emergency due… Read More
Suspected anthrax outbreak kills 107 hippos in Namibia
October 8, 2017, 8:46 pm
WINDHOEK -- A suspected anthrax outbreak has killed 107 hippos in one of Namibia's biggest game parks in the Zambezi region in Namibia in just one week. The park's deputy director Apollinaris Kannyinga confirmed the deaths Sunday at Bwabwata National Park. Kannyinga said the first 10 deaths were… Read More
Saudi Arabia set to curb attempts to finance terrorism
October 8, 2017, 5:07 pm
MOSCOW -- Saudi Arabia would not let anyone finance terrorism and spread the ideology of hatred, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in a news conference for Russian media. "Our approach to this problem has been very strict: we have dismissed several thousand of imams from mosques for… Read More
Hurricane Nate makes landfall, FEMA provides aid to Louisiana
October 8, 2017, 4:05 pm
HOUSTON -- Hurricane Nate made a landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River on the southeastern Louisiana coast Saturday evening, and federal emergency aid has been put in place. The US Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal… Read More
Hurricane Nate strengthens over Gulf of Mexico
October 8, 2017, 12:45 pm
MEXICO CITY -- Category 1 Hurricane Nate intensified early Saturday as it moved over the Gulf of Mexico on its way to the US mainland. While Nate was not expected to affect Mexican territory, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) reported the storm's winds picked up speed to reach 150 km per… Read More
Still no motive in Vegas massacre despite 1,000 leads: police
October 7, 2017, 1:56 pm
WASHINGTON -- US authorities have analyzed more than 1,000 leads into the Las Vegas mass shooting investigation but they still lack a motive for the crime, Las Vegas Police Department Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said during a press conference on Friday. "To date, we have run down well more than a… Read More
UN chief congratulates ICAN on winning Nobel Peace Prize
October 7, 2017, 1:39 pm
UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday congratulated the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on winning the Nobel Peace Prize, urging all countries to make "greater commitment for a world free of nuclear weapons". ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize… Read More
