An explosion rocked a warehouse at a US military base in Sagamihara, near the Japanese capital of Tokyo on Monday, but US forces said the building was not for storing hazardous materials and that there were no indications of injuries.Japanese…
Category: World News
Palmyra’s Baalshamin temple ‘blown up by IS’
Islamic State militants have destroyed Palmyra’s ancient temple of Baalshamin, Syrian officials and activists say. Syria’s head of antiquities was quoted as saying the temple was blown up on Sunday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that it…
Malaysia finds mass graves of 24 suspected human trafficking victims
Malaysian authorities have found mass graves containing the remains of more than 20 people believed to be human trafficking victims near the border with Thailand, police said on Sunday.The heavily forested Thai-Malay border has been a transit point for smugglers…
North Korea orders troops on war footing after exchange of fire with South
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops onto a war footing from 5 p.m on Friday after his government issued an ultimatum to Seoul to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts by Saturday afternoon or face military action.South Korean Vice…
MI5 spied on a Nobel Prize winning author for over a decade
By Katie Engelhart It was 1956 and Doris Lessing — then a writer of growing acclaim and later a Nobel Prize winner — was feeling cagey. She believed that she was being watched. At home, in London, she felt herself…
US Police kill another black teenager near Ferguson
Police shot dead another black teenager on Wednesday, days after the first anniversary of death of Michael Brown in north St. Louis, Missouri.The police officers in St. Louis, which hit the headlines for its suburb Ferguson where Brown was killed,…
Nazi gold train ‘found in Poland’
Two people in Poland say they may have found a Nazi train rumoured to be full of gold, gems and guns that disappeared in World War Two, Polish media say. The train is believed to have gone missing near what…
‘Female Viagra’ approved by US drug agency
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a libido-enhancing drug for women that has been dubbed “Female Viagra”. Flibanserin, a drug produced by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, recently passed an FDA advisory committee meeting. The pill is designed to assist…
Bangkok bomb was worst ever attack on Thailand, says PM
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has said the bombing of a shrine in the capital, Bangkok, on Monday was the “worst ever attack” on the country. The attack killed at least 21 people, including foreigners, and scores were injured. Mr…
Qatar’s Labour City ready to house 50,000 workers
DOHA: The Gulf region’s largest and most modern complex of labour camps, Labour City, located in the Industrial Area here, which can accommodate tens of thousands of workers is ready for renting out its premises to interested companies. The City,…
Sri Lanka elections: Rajapaksa hopes for comeback
Sri Lankans are going to the polls in a general election, with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa aiming to return to office as prime minister. Mr Rajapaksa lost the presidency in a snap election in January to Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena.…
8 killed as India Pakistan exchange fire along Kashmir
Indian and Pakistani troops traded heavy gunfire and mortar rounds for a seventh day Sunday along the highly militarized line of control dividing the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir between the two archrivals, officials said. Indian army spokesman Lt. Col.…
US flag raised over reopened Cuba embassy in Havana
The US has reopened its embassy in Cuba more than 54 years after it was closed, in a symbolic step signalling the warming of ties between both countries. John Kerry, the first US Secretary of State to visit Cuba in…
Japan PM Abe to deliver closely watched WW2 statement
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will deliver a much-anticipated statement on Friday marking 70 years since his country’s World War Two surrender. Its content will be closely watched by Japan’s neighbours, who are concerned he may water down past apologies…
Huge explosions in China’s Tianjin port area kill 17, hurt 400
Two massive explosions caused by flammable goods ripped through an industrial area in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin late on Wednesday, killing 17 people and injuring as many as 400, official Chinese media reported.Authorities had lost contact with…
Death toll rises to 44 in Tianjin port blasts in China
At least 44 people are now known to have died, and more than 500 injured, following two major explosions in China’s northern city of Tianjin. Twelve firefighters were among the dead, China’s official Xinhua news agency said as it reported…
Protests return to Ferguson streets, state of emergency in effect
Protesters regrouped in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday evening after a state of emergency was declared, aimed at preventing a repeat of violence the night before on the anniversary of the police shooting of an unarmed black man.Protesters, some waving flags,…
Ferguson anniversary: State of emergency declared amid protests
A state of emergency is in force in the US city of Ferguson amid protests marking the anniversary of the death of black teenager Michael Brown. The city is reported to be tense after another black teenager was critically wounded…
S. Korea to install anti-N. Korea loudspeakers in propaganda warfare
Broadcast was ceased in 2004, to be reinstated following mine incident from last week South Korean Ministry of Defense has announced plans to use propaganda loudspeakers near Paju as a measure against North Korea’s recent mine attack that seriously injured…
Anxious German envoy discusses blogger protection with Ganajagaran Mancha
Worried over the spate of murders of free thinkers in Bangladesh, the German envoy has discussed with Ganajagaran Mancha “options to protect bloggers and internet activists in Bangladesh”.The embassy said the meeting between its Chargé d’affaires von Weyhe and secular…
As Singapore turns 50, a proud nation prepares to party
Festooned with countless red and white flags, Singapore kicks off an extravagant celebration of its 50th anniversary on Sunday, an occasion of national pride the city state’s ruling party is expected to exploit to call an election next month.It will…
‘Shots fired’ at US Istanbul consulate
Two gunmen have opened fire outside the US consulate in Istanbul and fled when police shot back, reports say. No-one is reported to have been hurt.
Japan’s Abe renews pledge of nuclear weapons free Japan at Nagasaki memorial
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki by renewing his commitment to a nuclear weapons free Japan, following criticism for not making the same pledge on the anniversary of the…
Japan remembers Nagasaki atomic bomb, 70 years on
An emotional memorial service has been held in the Japanese city of Nagasaki where US forces dropped an atomic bomb exactly 70 years ago. Speeches at the ceremony criticised the attending Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his plans to loosen…
James Holmes spared death penalty for US cinema killings
A jury in the US state of Colorado has spared gunman James Holmes the death penalty for killing 12 people at a screening of a Batman film in 2012. He will serve life in jail without the possibility of parole.…
Greece is not the major problem – Europe is
By Siv O’Neall Yanis Varoufakis says about Europe: “A clueless political personnel, in denial of the systemic nature of the crisis, is pursuing policies akin to carpet-bombing the economy of proud European nations in order to save them.” (‘Yanis Varoufakis…
24 killed Indian trains derail on partly flooded track
Two passenger trains in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have derailed minutes apart on a partially flooded bridge, killing at least 24 people, officials say. The trains were passing each other near the town of Harda, and some coaches…
Obama’s hangover: Capitalising on the hype
Even the most hardened critic of Barack Obama’s US presidency couldn’t help but be caught up in the passion of his visit to East Africa last month. Nairobi was on full alert for the visit, having spent millions of dollars…
Hong Kong protest over ‘breast as weapon’ conviction
Dozens of bra-wearing men and women have protested in Hong Kong after a woman was jailed for assaulting a senior policeman with her breast. Ng Lai-ying, 30, had accused Chief Inspector Chan Ka-po of touching her breast during a protest…
It’s one-way fight between Clinton and Bush – for now
It was billed by some as a preview of next year’s general election showdown – the leading lights of two political dynasties offering duelling speeches from the same stage in the key battleground state of Florida. But when Jeb Bush…