Philippines bombing linked to possible extortion attempt

MANILA – November 6 (ONLINE) A homemade bomb went off in a bus and killed a passenger and wounded 10 others in a southern Philippine city in an attack authorities suspect may be part of an extortion attempt, officials have said. The bus with an […]

BASF to build Neopentyl Glycol plant at Zhanjiang Verbund site in China

GUANGZHOU, Nov. 6 (Xinhua/APP):German chemical giant BASF SE will invest in a new world-scale Neopentyl Glycol (NPG) plant with an annual production capacity of 80,000 tonnes at its Verbund site in the city of Zhanjiang, south China’s Guangdong Province. With the new NPG plant expected […]

Pope holds open-air mass for 30,000 in Bahrain

Riffa, Bahrain, Nov 5 (AFP/APP):About 30,000 flag-waving worshippers joined an open-air mass held by Pope Francis in mainly Muslim Bahrain on Saturday, the highlight of his outreach mission to the Gulf. Some of the congregation had tears in their eyes as they waited to see […]

Tigray rebels accuse Ethiopia of attacks after peace deal

Addis Ababa, Nov 4 (AFP/APP):Tigrayan authorities on Friday accused Ethiopia’s government of carrying out a drone strike on civilians, less than 48 hours after the warring parties signed a deal to end their bloody conflict. The breakthrough agreement sealed in South Africa has been hailed […]

US blacklists two top Haiti politicians as ‘drug traffickers’

Washington, Nov 4 (AFP/APP):The United States imposed sanctions on two top Haitian politicians, former Senate President Joseph Lambert and former senator Youri Latortue, accusing them of being longtime drug traffickers. The US Treasury said Lambert, who made a bid for the presidency last year, and […]

In US vote, misinformation in Spanish is a family affair

Washington/Mexico City, Nov 4 (AFP/APP):Shared among relatives and people they trust — that is how misinformation often moves among the estimated 34.5 million Americans of Hispanic origin eligible to vote in US midterm elections on November 8, experts say, with the specter of communism a […]

From pigs to TVs: Ukrainians despair at looting as Russia retreats

Kupiansk, Ukraine, Nov 4 (AFP/APP):From the rubble inside Kupiansk town hall, Olena salvages a chair, a screen: little was left when the Russians withdrew from this northeastern Ukrainian town, fuelling widespread allegations of systematic looting. On February 27, three days after the war began, Kupiansk […]

US condemns ‘illegal and destabilizing’ N.Korea ICBM launch

Washington, Nov 3 (AFP/APP): North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile is “illegal and destabilizing,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday. Austin also branded the North’s actions “irresponsible and reckless” during a joint news conference at the Pentagon alongside his South Korean counterpart […]

UN says sees ‘progress’ on Russia fertiliser exports

Geneva, Nov 3 (AFP/APP):Negotiations underway to unblock exports of fertiliser from Russia have made “important steps forward”, one of the main United Nations negotiators said Thursday, acknowledging though there was still a way to go. Moscow has complained its grain and fertiliser exports continue to […]