Foreign

Apple sues Israeli spyware maker NSO Group over iPhone attacks

Apple sues Israeli spyware maker NSO Group over iPhone attacks

November 24, 2021, 1:24 pm

WASHINGTON – Apple announced on Tuesday it has sued notorious Israeli spyware maker NSO Group over its allegedly "flagrant violations" of US law stemming from efforts to target iPhone users. The suit is the latest against the beleaguered NSO Group after WhatsApp and Facebook parent company Meta… Read More

Bulgaria bus mishap kills 46

Bulgaria bus mishap kills 46

November 23, 2021, 5:33 pm

SOFIA, Bulgaria – At least 46 people were burned to death early Tuesday in a bus accident in western Bulgaria. The bus with North Macedonian license plate caught fire after crashing into a roadside barrier on a highway near the Pernik city, west of Sofia, according to private television NOVA.… Read More

French premier tests positive for Covid-19

French premier tests positive for Covid-19

November 23, 2021, 1:32 pm

PARIS – French premier Jean Castex tested positive for the coronavirus after one of his daughters was infected with the virus, his office confirmed Monday. Castex, 56, was declared a contact case after his 11-year-old daughter tested positive. The prime minister earlier in the day went to… Read More

China pushes for nuclear weapon-free Southeast Asia

China pushes for nuclear weapon-free Southeast Asia

November 22, 2021, 3:40 pm

ISTANBUL – China on Monday said it is ready to work with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) towards a nuclear weapon-free region besides ensuring stability in the disputed South China Sea. “China supports Asean’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon-free zone, and… Read More

Biden temporarily transfers power to US VP over medical procedure

Biden temporarily transfers power to US VP over medical procedure

November 20, 2021, 12:51 pm

WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden will temporarily transfer his power to Vice President Kamala Harris while he remains under anesthesia in a hospital during planned medical procedures, the White House announced Friday. "As was the case when President George W. Bush had the same procedure in… Read More

Germany reports record 65,371 new Covid-19 cases

Germany reports record 65,371 new Covid-19 cases

November 18, 2021, 5:12 pm

BERLIN – Germany recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases on Thursday with more than 65,000 new infections, as officials warned that many hospitals were at the limits of their capacity. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's disease control agency, confirmed 65,371 new… Read More

Bangsamoro peace process has ‘come a long way’: Turkish envoy

Bangsamoro peace process has ‘come a long way’: Turkish envoy

November 18, 2021, 1:05 pm

COTABATO CITY, Bangsamoro/ISTANBUL – The Bangsamoro peace process in the Philippines has “come a long way,” Turkey’s ambassador to the Southeast Asian nation said. “It is not easy to implement such a peace process. It takes hard work, time and it will continue for some more time,”… Read More

NATO warns of ‘unusual concentration of forces’ near Ukraine

NATO warns of ‘unusual concentration of forces’ near Ukraine

November 15, 2021, 9:27 pm

BRUSSELS – North Atlantic Treaty Organization or Atlantic Alliance (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Monday called on Russia to reduce tensions after “unusual concentration of forces” in and around Ukraine. “What we see in and around Ukraine now is a large Russian military… Read More

China to continue Covid-19 vax support to Asean countries: FM

China to continue Covid-19 vax support to Asean countries: FM

November 15, 2021, 1:49 pm

BEIJING – Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with diplomatic envoys of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries on Sunday in Beijing. Wang said since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jinping has maintained close communication… Read More

Over 84M Chinese children vaccinated vs. Covid-19

Over 84M Chinese children vaccinated vs. Covid-19

November 14, 2021, 2:17 pm

BEIJING – Nearly 84.4 million children between aged 3 and 11 years old have been vaccinated against Covid-19 across China, and over 49.4 million among them have had booster shots, a health official said Saturday. The health authorities will continue to promote vaccination in this age group, Wu… Read More

APEC leaders issue declaration on policy actions for Covid-19

APEC leaders issue declaration on policy actions for Covid-19

November 13, 2021, 5:38 pm

JAKARTA – Leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies concluded this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Friday by adopting a declaration that incorporates policy actions formulated to respond to Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). The declaration was made… Read More

Young people deliver strong message to APEC leaders

Young people deliver strong message to APEC leaders

November 11, 2021, 7:54 pm

JAKARTA – Youth delegates participating in APEC Voices of the Future 2021 delivered a raft of practical approaches to help address global issues to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders. Some 90 delegates from 21 APEC economies have been meeting online this week to discuss four key… Read More

Filipino fishermen saved by Vietnamese boat, islanders

Filipino fishermen saved by Vietnamese boat, islanders

November 11, 2021, 11:55 am

KHÁNH HOÀ – A Filipino fisherman was saved by the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance (VFRS) team on Tuesday night after falling into the waters off the Trường Sa (Spratly) Islands. Vessel KN 464 of VFRS Division No.4 found 32-year-old Benjamin Abdulla near Song Tử Tây (Southwest… Read More

Nearly 143K chickens to be culled in Japan over bird flu

Nearly 143K chickens to be culled in Japan over bird flu

November 10, 2021, 1:42 pm

TOKYO – Bird flu has been detected at a poultry farm in Akita prefecture in northeastern Japan, Kyodo News reported Wednesday. Nearly 143,000 chickens will be culled after avian flu was detected in 12 of 13 chickens tested at the farm in the Yokote region, according to the prefectural… Read More

Impoverished Afghans plead for bread in front of bakeries

Impoverished Afghans plead for bread in front of bakeries

November 9, 2021, 8:09 pm

KABUL, Afghanistan – Shekiba Sukur has been waiting for hours outside a bakery in Kabul as the impoverished Afghanistan is now grappling with cash crunch, which appears to have flown out with the exit of US forces in August after 20 years of operations. She is in queue with more than a dozen… Read More

Japan sends 9 satellites into space

Japan sends 9 satellites into space

November 9, 2021, 7:33 pm

ISTANBUL – Japan on Tuesday sent into space at least nine satellites aboard the Epsilon rocket, the country’s space agency said. The satellites will help Japan promote involvement by educational institutions and companies in space development, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported. Satellites… Read More

UN warns Tigray conflict threatening to consume Ethiopia's future

UN warns Tigray conflict threatening to consume Ethiopia's future

November 9, 2021, 4:37 pm

WASHINGTON – The ongoing conflict between Tigray rebels and Ethiopian government forces threatens to "consume" the future of the East African country, the UN warned on Monday. Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN's top official for political and peacebuilding affairs, told the Security Council that the… Read More

UN warns over 3 million people need 'life-saving' aid in Myanmar

UN warns over 3 million people need 'life-saving' aid in Myanmar

November 9, 2021, 1:05 pm

WASHINGTON – Over 3 million people are in need of "life-saving" aid in Myanmar after the military there seized power and ousted the civilian government, the UN's humanitarian chief said on Monday. Martin Griffiths, the UN's emergency relief coordinator, said in the wake of the junta's Feb. 1… Read More

Historic pledges, youth climate activism mark 1st week of COP26

Historic pledges, youth climate activism mark 1st week of COP26

November 7, 2021, 4:36 pm

GLASGOW, Scotland – The first week of the COP26 climate summit saw a wide range of commitments with more than 40 countries pledging to phase out coal by 2050. And more than 100 leaders vowing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. This was also the first time that a COP… Read More

108 killed, 92 injured in fuel tanker explosion in Sierra Leone

108 killed, 92 injured in fuel tanker explosion in Sierra Leone

November 7, 2021, 1:38 pm

FREETOWN -- At least 108 people were killed and 92 others injured in a fuel tanker explosion here late Friday, Sierra Leone's National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) confirmed on Saturday. According to a statement by NDMA, a loaded fuel tanker and a truck carrying granite stones collided on a… Read More