Hundreds of thousands to be evacuated as Bangladesh and Myanmar brace for severe cyclone

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people Friday, warning them to stay away from coastal areas as a severe cyclone churned in the Bay of Bengal. Cyclone Mocha is expected to hit land on Sunday with wind speeds of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour and gusts up to 175 kph (110 mph) between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar, India's Meteorological Department said. Bangladesh, a delta nati

May 12, 2023

Palestinian militants fire more rockets, Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza despite cease-fire efforts

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian militants fired rockets toward Jerusalem on Friday, further escalating the most violent confrontation in months between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip despite efforts to broker a cease-fire. The burst of rocket fire from Gaza sent warning sirens wailing as far north as the contested capital of Jerusalem — about 48 miles (77 kilometers) from the Gaza border — breaking a 12-hour lull that had raised hopes that regional powers could soon

May 12, 2023

Zelenskyy to meet Italian president in Rome Saturday

ROME -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Rome on Saturday for talks with his Italian counterpart, an official told AFP Friday, with a meeting with Pope Francis also possible. "We confirm that this meeting will take place tomorrow," a spokesperson for Italian President Sergio Mattarella said when asked about reports of a meeting with Zelenskyy. It would be the first visit by Zelenskyy to EU and NATO member Italy since Russia's invasion in February 2022. A Va

May 12, 2023

[Graphic News] Mass shootings in US

A gunman shot and killed eight people and injured several others at a busy mall north of Dallas on Saturday. A Korean American couple and their 3-year-old son were among those killed in Texas mall massacre. Another 6-year-old boy was wounded and hospitalized. The massacre is among the latest in at least 202 mass shootings recorded in the United States this year, according to the nonprofit group Gun Violence Archive. The group defines a mass shooting as any incident in which four or more people a

May 11, 2023

AI could replace 80% of jobs in few years

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Artificial intelligence could replace 80 percent of human jobs in the coming years -- but that's a good thing, says US-Brazilian researcher Ben Goertzel, a leading AI guru. Mathematician, cognitive scientist and famed robot-creator Goertzel, 56, is founder and chief executive of SingularityNET, a research group he launched to create "Artificial General Intelligence," or AGI -- artificial intelligence with human cognitive abilities. With his long hair and leopard-

May 10, 2023

[Graphic News] Biden trails Trump as his approval rating hits low: poll

President Joe Biden’s approval rating slid to a career low in the latest opinion poll for ABC News and the Washington Post that also showed the US leader lagging predecessor Donald Trump in early voter preferences for the 2024 election. The percentage of those approving of Biden’s performance fell to 36 percent, six points lower than in February and a point off his previous low in early 2022, according to the survey conducted for the news organizations by Langer Research Associates.

May 10, 2023

14 million watched coronation of King Charles III: BBC

LONDON (AFP) -- More than 14 million people tuned in to watch King Charles III's coronation on BBC television, the corporation said on Sunday. At its peak, 13.4 million watched on the main BBC One channel, with an average of 11.9 million watching Saturday's coverage of the ceremony. A signed version on BBC Two peaked at 1.7 million, averaging at 1.4 million, a statement from the public broadcaster read. Saturday's coronation -- the first to be held in Britain in 70 years -- was on

May 7, 2023

Charles III to be crowned king in first UK coronation since 1953

Charles III will be crowned king on Saturday in a solemn Christian ceremony steeped in 1,000 years of history and tradition, but adapted to reflect 21st-century Britain. St Edward's Crown -- a solid gold, sacred symbol of the monarch's authority used only once in their reign -- will be placed on Charles's head to cries of "God Save the King." Trumpet fanfares will sound through London's Westminster Abbey and ceremonial gun salutes will blast out across land and sea

May 6, 2023

Aftershocks shake Japan after quake kills one, destroys homes

Aftershocks shook Japan a day after a powerful earthquake left at least one person dead, with officials assessing damage Saturday from the jolt that destroyed several buildings. The 6.5 magnitude quake hit the central Ishikawa region mid-afternoon on Friday at a depth of 12 kilometers, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Around 55 aftershocks, some of them strong, had occurred by Saturday morning, the agency said, as it warned that heavy rain could trigger landslides in the area. At le

May 6, 2023

[Graphic News] King Charles III’s coronation

King Charles III’s coronation will take place Saturday at Westminster Abbey in London. More than 2,200 people will attend the coronation, including international representatives from 203 countries as well as community and charity workers. During the ceremony, the king will be crowned alongside Camilla, the queen consort.

May 5, 2023

The need for a new US foreign policy

By Jeffrey D. Sachs US foreign policy is based on an inherent contradiction and fatal flaw. The aim of US foreign policy is a US-dominated world, in which the US writes the global trade and financial rules, controls advanced technologies, maintains militarily supremacy, and dominates all potential competitors. Unless US foreign policy is changed to recognize the need for a multipolar world, it will lead to more wars, and possibly World War III. The inherent contradiction in US foreign policy i

May 2, 2023

Russia says US-Korea nuclear deal could destabilize region

Russia's foreign ministry on Friday criticised a nuclear agreement between the United States and South Korea, saying it would destabilise the region and the wider world, and warned of a potential arms race as a result. The United States on Wednesday pledged to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning, while Seoul promised not to seek nuclear weapons itself in an agreement both sides said was aimed against North Korea. Russia has repeatedly railed against what it sees as the U

April 28, 2023

China lodges serious representations with S. Korea over joint statement with US

China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" to South Korea over its joint statement with the United States about the need for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, a foreign ministry statement said on Friday. Department of Asian Affairs Director-General Liu Jinsong met with South Korean Embassy Minister Kang Sang-wook on Thursday evening to emphasise China's stance on Taiwan and urged South Korea to strictly adhere to the "One-China" principle, the ministry said. South

April 28, 2023

Zelenskyy says held 'meaningful' talks with China's Xi

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a "long and meaningful" phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday -- the first between the two leaders since the start of Russia's invasion. "I had a long and meaningful phone call with President Xi Jinping," Zelenskyy said on Twitter. "I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine's ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of

April 26, 2023

[Graphic News] India’s population to overtake China

India is poised to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation, with almost 3 million more people than its neighbor by the middle of this year, data released by the United Nations showed. India’s population by mid-year is estimated at 1.4286 billion, against 1.4257 billion for China - 2.9 million fewer - in the United Nations Population Fund’s “State of World Population Report” for this year. The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population

April 25, 2023

[Ana Palacio] Urgent for US to restore its position in Middle East

Perhaps no image better captures the shifting dynamics in the Middle East than that of Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s security council, and Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban, Saudi Arabia’s minister of state, shaking hands in Beijing, with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, smiling between them. The officials were celebrating a China-mediated deal restoring diplomatic ties between the two rivals. In the process, China solidified its reputation as a global powerbroker and under

April 24, 2023

[Graphic News] Over 400 human rights activists murdered in 2022

A total of 401 human rights activists were killed in 2022, and about half of the killings took place in Colombia, according to the Guardian. The UK daily quoted Front Line Defenders, a human rights group, and said Colombia’s 186 killings were followed by Ukraine (50), Mexico (45), Brazil (26) and Honduras (17) in that order. The figure of 401 deaths across 26 countries in 2022 was a jump from 358 deaths in 30 countries the previous year. Colombia saw more than three times the number of suc

April 19, 2023

Shooting at Alabama birthday party kills 4 people, wounds 28

DADEVILLE, Alabama -- Alabama law enforcement officers Sunday were imploring people to come forward with information about a shooting that killed four people and injured 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party. Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday. The shooting erupted Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville. During two news conferences Sunday, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the A

April 17, 2023

[Graphic News] Russia’s murder rate rises for first time in 20 years

　The rates of murder and attempted murder in Russia increased last year for the first time in 20 years in what some analysts suggest is a knock-on effect of the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant. 　The number of murders and attempted murder cases in Russia in 2022 was 7,628, up 4 percent from 7,332 in the previous year. 　The data showed a significant rise in murder rates in the Russian regions that border Ukraine. 　The number of c

April 13, 2023

[Graphic News] Nearly 70% of Americans are ‘afraid’ of self-driving cars: survey

Despite recent advancements in autonomous vehicle technology, Americans are growing increasingly wary of the safety of self-driving cars. AAA released the results of its annual automated vehicle survey, finding that nearly 70 percent of respondents were afraid of self-driving cars, while less than 10 percent fully trusted them. These numbers represent a significant shift from last year’s survey results, with the number of respondents fearful of self-driving cars spiking by 13 percentage po

April 12, 2023