Race to find survivors as Morocco quake deaths top 2,000

Morocco's deadliest earthquake in decades has killed more than 2,000 people, authorities said Saturday, as troops and emergency services scrambled to reach remote mountain villages where victims are still feared trapped. Authorities declared three days of national mourning, but the Red Cross warned that it could take years to repair the damage. The 6.8-magnitude quake struck late Friday in a mountainous area 72 kilometres southwest of the tourist city of Marrakesh, the US Geological Survey

Sept. 10, 2023

Powerful earthquake strikes Morocco, damaging buildings and sending people into the streets

RABAT, Morocco — A powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday, damaging buildings in major cities and sending panicked people pouring into streets and alleyways from the capital Rabat to Marrakech, the county's most visited tourist destination. There was no immediate word on whether there were any injuries or deaths. Government officials had made no comment on the extent of the quake’s impact as of early Saturday. Moroccans posted videos showing some buildings turned to ru

Sept. 9, 2023

[Graphic News] Trump trial set for March 4, 2024 amid primaries

A judge set a March 4, 2024, trial date for Donald Trump in the federal case in Washington charging the former president with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election, rejecting a defense request to push back the case by years. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan rebuffed claims by Trump’s attorneys that an April 2026 trial date was necessary to account for the huge volume of evidence they say they are reviewing and to prepare for what they contend is a novel and unprecedented prose

Sept. 4, 2023

Thai ex-PM Thaksin applies for royal pardon: govt source

Thailand's jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has requested a royal pardon, a government minister said Thursday. The 74-year-old billionaire, twice elected PM and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was sent to prison last week immediately after returning to the kingdom from 15 years of self-exile. His homecoming coincided with his Pheu Thai party returning to government in alliance with several pro-military parties, sparking widespread speculation of a deal to cut his jail time. C

Aug. 31, 2023

The US economic war on China

By Jeffrey D. Sachs China’s economy is slowing down. Current forecasts put China’s GDP growth in 2023 at less than 5%, below the forecasts made last year and far below the high growth rates that China enjoyed until the late 2010s. The Western press is filled with China’s supposed misdeeds: a financial crisis in the real-estate market, a general overhang of debt, and other ills. Yet much of the slowdown is the result of US measures that aim to slow China’s growth. Such US

Aug. 31, 2023

[Graphic News] Global household wealth drops for first time since 2008 financial crisis

Global household wealth fell last year for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008, as inflation and the appreciation of the US dollar wiped some $11.3 trillion off assets. Total net private wealth across the world decreased by 2.4 percent to a total of $454.4 trillion, according to Credit Suisse’s annual global wealth report. The bulk of the decline was felt in North American and European households, which lost a combined $10.9 trillion. Not all regions suffered a hit to wealth.

Aug. 31, 2023

[Graphic News] List of countries who have made soft lunar landings

　India made history as it became the first country in the world to land its spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, an uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water. 　India is the fourth country to achieve a moon landing.

Aug. 29, 2023

Russia hopes to raise fish, seafood exports to China after Japan ban

MOSCOW/TOKYO -- Russia hopes to increase its marine product exports to China in the wake of China's ban on Japanese seafood imports after the release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. Russia is one of the biggest marine product suppliers to China, with 894 Russian companies allowed to export seafood, Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian food safety watchdog, said in July. In a statement late on Friday, Rosselkhoznadzor said it was seeking to

Aug. 26, 2023

[Graphic News] India’s endangered tiger population tops 3,600

　India’s wild tiger population is estimated to now exceed 3,600, according to new government figures, in a vindication of conservation efforts for the endangered species. 　Tigers once roamed throughout central, eastern and southern Asia, but have lost nearly 95 percent of their historical range in the past century. India is currently home to 75 percent of the world’s tigers, and the country declared its population of the big cats had risen to 3,167 in April after a camera-based sur

Aug. 25, 2023

[Graphic News] Close to half of Americans favor TikTok ban: poll

Close to half of American adults support a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey that also asked questions about national security concerns and China. TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and used by tens of millions of Americans, has faced calls from US lawmakers for a nationwide ban over concerns about possible Chinese government influence. Some 47 percent of respondents to the two-day poll, which concluded on Aug. 15, said they at l

Aug. 23, 2023

Ukraine's Zelenskyy in Netherlands after US approved sending Dutch F-16 jets to Ukraine

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Netherlands on Sunday, two days after the country said the United States had given its approval for Dutch and Danish authorities to deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine's air force. Zelenskyy is meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at a military air base in the southern city of Eindhoven. The Ukrainian leader was in Sweden a day earlier. The U.S. approval Friday for the Netherlands and Denmark to d

Aug. 20, 2023

Thousands flee raging wildfire, turning capital of Canada's Northwest Territories into ghost town

The capital of Canada's Northwest Territories was virtually deserted after nearly all the residents of the city of just over 20,000 fled as a huge wildfire burned nearby. To the south, in British Columbia, thousands more people were told to leave their homes while firefighters battled a growing fire that set homes ablaze. Officials in Northwest Territories said Friday evening that about 19,000 people had left Yellowknife in less than 48 hours, with about 15,000 driving out in convoys and 3,

Aug. 19, 2023

Biden goes west for his second vacation of the month

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived in Nevada late Friday for more rest and relaxation. The first couple is renting a private home on Lake Tahoe, the massive alpine lake that abuts California and Nevada and is a tourist attraction, particularly in the winter for its ski resorts. The president flew there from Camp David, where he hosted a summit Friday with the leaders of South Korea and Japan. The home in the Glenbrook community belongs to Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor. Steyer is

Aug. 19, 2023

[Graphic News] About 7 in 10 US adults believe in angels: poll

About 7 in 10 US adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “People are yearning for something greater than themselves — beyond their own understanding,” said Jack Grogger, chaplain for the Los Angeles Angels and a longtime Southern California fire captain who has aided many people in their gravest moments. People turn to angels for comfort, he said. They are familiar, regularly showing up in pop c

Aug. 15, 2023

Russia downs 20 drones over Crimea following a spate of attacks on Moscow

Russia thwarted an attack by 20 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow-annexed Crimea overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday. Fourteen drones were shot down by Russian air defenses and a further six were jammed electronically, the ministry said in a Telegram post. No casualties or damage were reported. Kyiv officials neither confirmed nor denied Ukraine’s involvement in the attacks. As videos circulated on Russian social media Saturday appearing to show smoke rising above a bridg

Aug. 13, 2023

'It's gone': stunned residents find nothing but ashes in Hawaii wildfire town

When Anthony La Puente made it back to the place he had called home for the last 16 years, there was almost nothing left. His house, like most in Lahaina, had been razed by the wildfire that swept through this slice of Hawaiian paradise. "The only thing I can say is that it hurts. It takes a toll on you emotionally," the 44-year old said "It sucks not being able to find the things you grew up with, or the things you remember." La Puente was one of dozens of people who were al

Aug. 12, 2023

[Wang Son-taek] How to fix the jamboree fiasco?

South Korea has been upgraded from the poorest to one of the wealthiest countries by making remarkable progress over the past 60 years. The people of Korea are proud of these achievements. However, the pride has been brutally shattered in the wake of the 25th World Scout Jamboree. This is because the big event is attracting international attention and has been ruined due to a lack of preparation. Participants of the jamboree, which was held in Saemangeum, a large portion of reclaimed land in Bua

Aug. 10, 2023

[Graphic News] Most Asian Americans have unfavorable views of China, prefer Taiwan

A new poll conducted amid rising tensions between mainland China and Taiwan, as well as with the United States, has found that most Asian Americans view China unfavorably. The poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center, surveyed 7,006 Asian adults living in the US from July 2022 to January 2023. The poll found that 78 percent of Asian adults in the US view the nation unfavorably but just 20 percent view China favorably. Only 11 percent viewed the US unfavorably while the majority, 52 percent, vi

Aug. 3, 2023

As the summer breezes fade, sweltering Europeans give air conditioning a skeptical embrace

MILAN -- During Europe's heat wave last month, Floriana Peroni’s vintage clothing store had to close for a week. A truck of rented generators blocked her door as they fed power to the central Roman neighborhood hit by a blackout as temperatures surged. The main culprit: air conditioning. The period -- in which temperatures hit 40 degrees Celsius -- coincided with peak electricity use that came close to Italy’s all-time high, hitting a peak load of more than 59 gigawatts on Jul

Aug. 2, 2023

Pope calls for 'courageous courses of peace' for Ukraine

Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Europe to find "courageous courses of peace" to end the war in Ukraine as he opened a five-day visit to Portugal for a major Catholic youth festival. The 86-year-old pontiff has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine and has sought to play a mediating role, though his efforts have yet to yield results and he has faced criticism for failing to blame Russia for the war. "We are sailing amid storms on the ocean of history, and we sense the need for cou

Aug. 2, 2023