Category: World News

Frantic attempts to save men on Melbourne lake

A rescuer grabbed a surfboard and paddled onto a Melbourne, Australia, lake in an attempt to save two men who drowned during a drunken evening swim. The men – one aged 19 and the other in his 30s – quickly got into trouble in the lake on Redleap Reserve at Mill Park last night.

Tourism officials slammed by winemaker over wine show

One of the Hunter Valley’s leading winemakers has blasted New South Wales tourism officials for failing to properly support the industry. Andrew Margan from Margan Wines said Hunter wine country was the state’s biggest tourism drawcard outside of Sydney, yet continually failed to attract government funding.

Disgraced Qld fraudster MP to be sentenced

Disgraced former Queensland MP Scott Driscoll will soon learn whether he’ll be jailed over fraud offences, after pleading guilty three days before he was due to stand trial in the Brisbane District Court. The member for Redcliffe in the Newman government in November pleaded guilty to 15 charges, admitting to soliciting thousands of dollars in secret commissions and falsifying records during his term as an MP.

Veil on military funds

Parliament’s spokesperson, Fu Ying, said yesterday defence spending for this year would rise about 7 per cent, accounting for about 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product – the same level as the last few years. However, the actual defence spending target for this year was not included in the country’s budget released at the opening of parliament’s annual session on Sunday, as it has been in previous years.

Under pressure, Cabinet braces for discussion on border-jumpers that…

Federal cabinet ministers are set for an in-depth discussion this week of the practical and political pressures being placed on the Liberal government by a rising number of asylum seekers in Canada. Border security, RCMP and immigration officials have been running scenarios to prepare for the possibility that a relative winter trickle of illegal immigration into Canada could turn into a spring flood.

Consumers gouged up to $1.6b through poor airport privatisations: ACCC

Airlines and their passengers have paid up to $1.6 billion too much for airport access over the past decade due to a textbook example of how not to privatise monopoly assets, the competition regulator said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest report into Australia’s four biggest airports – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth – found that profit margins eased slightly for three of the operators last financial year.

The Booziest Honeymoon Destinations, Ever

Sample world-renowned rum in a bodega and learn about the slow-aged process that makes it the rum of choice for aficionados. After a visit to the distillery, head to Granada, the oldest colonial continental city in the Americas.

The Latest: Banging pots, French decry political corruption

Conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon delivers his speech during a campaign meeting in Aubervilliers, outside Paris, France, Saturday, March 4, 2017. Fillon, whose campaign has been unraveling over impending corruption charges, vowed to remake France in a speech on Saturday, a day before what amounts to his last stand, a rally near the Eiffel Tower widely seen as a test of his staying power via the number of supporters he can muster.

Lotte may harm itself by yielding to THAAD

No THAAD! Lotte out of China!” This is what was written on the banner held by a group of protesters in front of a Lotte-invested supermarket in the city of Qidong, East China’s Jiangsu province, on Thursday. Such protests were organised after the Republic of Korea conglomerate Lotte Group accepted a plot of land in exchange for its Skyhill Golf Course in Seongju where the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system will be deployed, a move which China is strongly opposed to because it will destabilise the strategic balance in East Asia in favor of the United States.

Blue is the color of the season at Paris Fashion Week

It’s no secret that politics infuses fashion – and some critics are interpreting the current mania for blue at Paris Fashion Week as a statement of “the blues” about the perceived rise of nationalism across Europe and America. France’s culture minister told The AP this week that the Parisian fashion industry – that relies on foreign talent – is under threat owing to the rise of nationalism.

Turning point: Germany hoped to close border in 2015, didna t

Germany planned to close its border with Austria and turn back asylum-seekers in September 2015, a move that could have dramatically changed the course of the European refugee crisis that was at its peak at the time, according to a German newspaper. The Welt am Sonntag reported Sunday that Chancellor Angela Merkel and her ministers agreed Sept.

Maharashtra: Two held in connection with HSC question paper leak

Vashi Police with the help of cyber cell of Navi Mumbai Police arrested two persons from Malad in Mumbai in connection with the question paper leak on social media messenger of higher secondary examination which is currently underway. Mumbai division of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education had lodged complaints with Vashi Police station on March 3 and 4 after the question papers went viral on WhatsApp.

How should the growing school places crisis in Ipswich be solved?

As council chiefs step up plans to build two new schools in Ipswich amid soaring demand for places, we are asking our readers for your thoughts on how the growing school places crisis should be solved. This newspaper exclusively revealed last week that just under 300 parents were denied a place at their preferred secondary school for their child this September.

China reset: ‘Absolutely’ opposed to Taiwan independence

China will resolutely oppose and contain Taiwan independence, Premier Li Keqiang said in remarks prepared for delivery at the opening of the annual meeting of its rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday, amid heightened tension between Beijing and the self-ruled island. China is deeply suspicious of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, whose ruling Democratic Progressive Party espouses the island’s formal independence, a red line for Beijing, which has cut off an official dialogue mechanism with Taipei.

Russia: 1 dead, 3 detained in operation against IS cell11 min ago

Russian authorities say one person has been killed and three others detained in an operation to break up a sleeper cell of the Islamic State in the country’s restive southern region of Dagestan. The National Anti-terrorism Committee said the operation took place today in the city of Derbent, on the Caspian Sea near the border with Azerbaijan.

Leader backs trade jump with Baku

In a meeting with visiting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday, the Supreme Leader called for a 10-fold hike in trade between Iran and Azerbaijan given the great potential in the two countries. “The level of economic cooperation is very low compared to the two countries’ potentialities and facilities, and trade turnover should increase up to 10 times of the current level,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggested.

Czar sculpture in Crimea reportedly shedding tears45 minutes ago

Russian news reports say curious and pious people are visiting a bust of the last czar in the Crimean capital after reports spread that the sculpture appeared to be weeping. The bust of Nicholas II was erected near the Crimean prosecutor’s office in Simferopol in 2016, two years after Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine.

South Korea to quadruple reward fee for North Korean defectors

South Korea is quadrupling its reward fee for defectors from North Korea who are willing to hand over classified information on the reclusive country’s military secrets. The Ministry of Unification announced Sunday that it would pay up to 1 billion won — eclipsing the previous maximum of 250 million won.

Islam-inspired terror offences – nearly double in UK in five years’

The number of Islamism-inspired terrorism offences in the UK has nearly doubled in the five years to the end of 2015, according to a new report. The period from 1998 to 2015, studied in a report on Islamist terrorism on British soil, has also seen a surge in the number of women taking part in these crimes with offenders are getting younger and the bulk of the Islamism-inspired threat coming from home-grown terrorism.

Who shares Cyprus’ growing air travel market ?

Some 9.3 million travellers are expected to use the airports at Larnaca and Paphos this year, a 3.6% increase on 2016, which had in turn been a record-breaking year. Last year saw an 18% increase, translating to 1.37 million passengers using the airports, an 18% rise in comparison to 2015.

Deadly floods hit southern Zimbabwe, destroying many homes

From kitchen items to livestock and even her house, Assa Mkwananzi says she has “lost it all” to floods that have hit southern Zimbabwe. “We lost all our blankets, pots and cooking utensils, our goats and chickens as well because of the heavy rains,” Mkwananzi told The Associated Press in the southern district of Tsholotsho, about 200 kilometers north of Bulawayo.

Planting, nurturing, growing tourism

THE relatively new regional director of the Department of Tourism, Camiguin-born Catalino Echaves Chan III, is no stranger to Cebu. Chan is the son of the late retired Judge Ceferino Chan and his wife Mercedes Echaves and is named after his uncle and grandfather, Catalino Jr. and Sr. He came to Cebu for his college studies at the University of San Carlos where he was a member of the university dance troupe, becoming its president in his senior year.

Japan’s emperor pays respects to Thailand’s late king

Japanese Emperor Akihito paid his respects to the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Sunday, arriving in Bangkok following a weeklong trip to Vietnam aimed at winning support against Chinese expansionism. The monarchies – two of a handful remaining in Asia – have maintained close ties.

Cuomo calls anti-Semitic attack in New York ‘reprehensible’

Visiting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that a recent rash of anti-Semitic acts in the United States was “reprehensible” and his state would have no tolerance for them. In a visit to Israel, Cuomo made his first comments following the toppling of headstones at a Jewish cemetery this weekend in Brooklyn.

A tour of Florence, Italy, preparing to hike Mt. Whitney, and a tide pool walk in San Pedro

Patty Civalleri, author of the upcoming book “Florence: A Traveler’s Guide to Its Gems and Giants,” will discuss her favorite historical, architectural and artistic spots in the city. Watch a slide show, then explore the tide pools at Point Fermin on a walk led by staff from the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium When, where: 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday and 3-4:30 p.m. March 12. John M. Olguin Auditorium, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro.

Messy weather for parts of P.E.I. today

Environment Canada is forecasting a messy day for Charlottetown and parts of P.E.I. on Sunday with 5 cm of snow and high winds. With high winds and blowing snow, Islanders can expect a messy day of weather in parts of the province on Sunday.

Interview: Rising global protectionism causes concern: Brazilian analyst

Growing protectionist tendencies and rising conservative nationalism have raised deep concern in a global scenario with a deterioration of multilateral security mechanisms since World War II, a leading Brazilian analyst said Saturday. Luiz Fernando Horta, a historian and expert of international relations at the University of Brasilia , told Xinhua in an interview.

Roundup: China’s economy continues to perform strongly: media

China’s economy continues to be among the world strongest as the global powerhouse laid down its 2017 Gross Domestic Product growth target at around 6.5 percent on Sunday, international media reported. China has set its GDP growth target at around 6.5 percent for 2017, compared with a target range of 6.5-7 percent for 2016, according to a government work report released at an annual session of the National People’s Congress — China’s top legislature.