Category: World News

Colombian Police Suspect ELN Rebels Behind Bullring Explosion

Colombian authorities suspect Marxist ELN rebels were behind a bomb attack near Bogota’s bullring on Sunday, leaving dozens of police officers injured as they prepared for anti-bullfighting protests in Colombia’s capital. “It’s a hypothesis we’re investigating,” Bogota police chief General Hoover Penilla told reporters on Monday.

For sale: a slice of the Mediterranean lifestyle

La Baraquette, a luxury holiday home development in the south of France, offers sea views, sunshine – and your very own vineyard Until recently, property-hunters in southern France had to choose between two competing visions of the good life: a wine-steeped bolthole nestling in its own vineyards, or a cottage on the coast, with sea views and Mediterranean sunsets. Now buyers in that enviable predicament can have it both ways.

PIA to launch 3 Asean info kiosks

THE Philippine Information Agency -Davao is set to launch three information kiosks in Davao and Tagum City for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2017 on Wednesday, February 22. Efren Elbanbuena, PIA-Davao director said the kiosk is set up to equip the public about the necessary information in line with the country’s hosting of the 50th Asean celebration. The information kiosk will be installed at the hallway of the pre-departure area of the Davao International Airport and at Big8 Corporate Hotel and Robinsons Mall in Tagum City where the launching will be graced by PIA Director General Harold Clavite and PIA deputy director general Gelo Villar.

Calinan, Paquibato now back to normal

THE situation is now back to normal for residents in Calinan and Paquiabato districts in Davao City after Thursday’s heavy firefight between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. City Social Services and Development Office head Maria Luisa Bermudo said residents are now back home.

Pence tries to reassure Europeans, anxious over Trump rhetoric, of US support

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence moved Monday to assuage European Union fears about the strength of Washington’s support for the union and its commitment to European security through the NATO military alliance. In meetings in Brussels, Pence said he was acting on behalf of President Donald Trump “to express the strong commitment of the United States to continued cooperation and partnership with the European Union.”

Coup-plotting soldiers go on trial for Erdogan assassination attempt

The trial of more than 40 Turkish soldiers accused of attempting to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the July 2016 failed coup attempt started on Feb. 20. Under tight security, the defendants were bussed in to a courthouse in Mugla, not far from the resort where Erdogan and his family narrowly escaped the soldiers in a helicopter. Forty-four suspects, mainly soldiers, are under arrest, while three others still on the run are being tried in absentia.

EU welcomes Pence assurance of Trump’s support

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence assured the European Union in Brussels on Feb. 20 that the Trump administration will develop their cooperation in trade and security and backs the EU as a partner in its own right. A month after U.S. President Donald Trump caused alarm by renewing his endorsement of Brexit and suggesting others may follow Britain out of the EU, Pence told reporters that he had come to “the home of the European Union” with a message from the president.

US ‘not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil’: Mattis

The United States is not about to plunder Iraq’s petroleum reserves, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who arrived in Baghdad on Feb. 20, said as he sought to soothe partners rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly said both while campaigning and since his election that America, whose troops occupied Iraq for eight years, should have grabbed Iraqi oil to help fund its war effort and to deprive the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant of a vital revenue source.

Syria army ramps up shelling near capital ahead of talks

Syrian government forces on Feb. 20 escalated their bombing campaign around Damascus, raining shells down on rebel territory and sending out a “bloody message” just days before renewed peace talks in Geneva. Representatives from the opposition and of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime are to head to Switzerland on Feb. 23 for another attempt to end their country’s brutal six-year war.

US Senator McCain meets Turkish leaders

U.S.’s Senior Republican Senator John McCain, who serves as a chairman for the Senate Armed Services Committee, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Y ld r m on Feb. 20. McCain, who has been an ardent promoter of U.S.-Turkey relations, was expected to discuss the Syrian crisis in Ankara. His visit came after U.S. Senate on December 2016 passed a defense policy bill that allows supplying portable surface-to-air missiles to Syrian opposition groups.

Merkel appeals court order to reveal chats with journalists

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, shakes hands with the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi for the media ahead of bilateral talks during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. The annual weekend gathering is known for providing an open and informal platform to meet in close quarters.

Thousands protest as MPs debate Donald Trump’s state visit

In a packed Westminster Hall, MPs were considering Theresa May’s decision to extend the invitation to the US president in a debate being held in response to petitions signed by millions of Britons. Anti-Trump chants were heard from Parliament Square before the debate, and appeared to die down as Labour MP Paul Flynn opened proceedings.

Russia Overtakes Saudi Arabia as World’s Largest Crude Producer

Russia overtook Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest crude producer in December, when both countries started restricting supplies ahead of agreed cuts with other global producers to curb the worst glut in decades. Russia pumped 10.49 million barrels a day in December, down 29,000 barrels a day from November, while Saudi Arabia’s output declined to 10.46 million barrels a day from 10.72 million barrels a day in November, according to data published Monday on the website of the Joint Organisations Data Initiative in Riyadh.

Chinese Game Site Said to Seek Funds at $1.2 Billion Valuation

Douyu, the live-streaming service backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. that’s been compared to Amazon’s Twitch, is in talks to raise a billion yuan in funds at a valuation of about $1.2 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The three-year-old company, whose name means “fighting fish,” needs capital to expand beyond games-streaming and fend off rivals, the person said, asking not to be named discussing a private deal.

Iran says Turkey better not to test Tehran’s patience

Reacting to anti-Iran remarks by the Turkish foreign minister in the Munich Security Conference, Iran advised Ankara not to test Iran’s patience. “Turkey is our strong neighbor but Iran’s patience is not infinite,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Barham Qassemi told a press conference in Tehran on Monday.

Two senior Ukip officials quit over party’s ‘insensitivity’ about Hillsborough

The resignations are another blow to Ukip leader Paul Nuttall just days before the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election where he is hoping to oust Labour Stuart Monkcom, the chairman of leader Paul Nuttall’s own branch in Liverpool, and Adam Heatherington, chairman of the Merseyside regional branch, comments made by party figures had been “upsetting and intolerable” for the victims of the families. The announcement is another blow to Mr Nuttall just days before the Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election where he is hoping to oust Labour.

PM Najib says Malaysia will be objective in Kim Jong Nam murder probe

Feb 20 Malaysia has no reason to paint North Korea in a bad light and will be objective in its inquiry into the death of the estranged half-brother of the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday. “We have no reason why we want to do something to paint North Korea in a bad light, but we will be objective,” Najib told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital.

Minister: Israel expects Trump to keep promise to move Embassy to Jerusalem

Every US president in recent memory has committed during electoral campaigns to moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem only to relent on the promise when taking office. “The government expects President Trump will meet his obligations to his voters and move the [US] embassy to Jerusalem,” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Monday.

TV footage appears to show deliberate attack on North Korean

Security camera footage obtained by Japanese television appears to show a careful and deliberate attack last week on the exiled half brother of North Korea’s ruler, while Malaysia said Monday it had recalled its ambassador to North Korea amid rising tensions between the nations. The footage, obtained by Fuji TV and often grainy and blurred, seems to show two women approaching Kim Jong Nam from different directions as he stands at a ticketing kiosk at the budget terminal of the Kuala Lumpur airport.

In the know: Can oarfish predict earthquakes?

AGUSAN. An oarfish was found ashore in Barangay Rojales, Carmen, Agusan del Norte, on February 15. DAYS before and after the 6.7-magnitude earthquake that devastated Surigao City and its nearby provinces, multiple sightings of giant oarfish in Mindanao were reported.

Strike closes Acropolis, ancient sites in Greece

Tourists stand on a hill under ancient Acropolis hill during a 24-hour strike by archaeological guards demanding unpaid wages and the recruitment of additional employees in Athens, Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. Greece has been struggling for months to conclude negotiations with its creditors on spending cuts and reforms demanded by European creditors and the International Monetary Fund as part of its third bailout program.

India’s Modi leading in biggest state election as counting begins

Early counting on Saturday in India’s most populous state showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party leading in the country’s most important electoral test since the 2014 general election. If the Bharatiya Janata Party does wrest control of Uttar Pradesh it would be an endorsement of Modi’s stewardship of Asia’s third-largest economy after his high-risk decision last November to scrap high-value banknotes worth 86 percent of the cash in circulation.

New Zealand judge upholds Kim Dotcom extradition ruling

In this Nov. 27, 2014, file photo, Kim Dotcom arrives at Auckland District Court in Auckland, New Zealand. A New Zealand judge on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017, upheld an earlier court ruling that flamboyant internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues can be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges.

JSMM calls for strike across Sindh against CPEC today

Karachi [Pakistan], Feb. 20 : The Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz , a major separatist political party in Sindh, Pakistan, has given a call of strike across the province against China-Pakistan Economic Corridor today. Following this development, a grand operation had been started against JSMM since 48 hours and more than 150 workers and their relatives have been arrested.