UK Water Company says hosepipe ban to start next week

LONDON, UK, Aug 17 (AA/APP): A major British water company on Wednesday announced a hosepipe ban for the south of England from next week, following prolonged heat waves and an official drought. In a statement, Thames Water, which provides water services to over 15 million […]

Former Australian PM defends secret power grab

Sydney, Aug 17 (AFP/APP): Australia’s ex-prime minister on Wednesday defended secretly appointing himself to several key ministries during the Covid-19 pandemic, rejecting accusations he created a “shadow government” and undermined the country’s democracy. Refusing bipartisan calls to apologise and resign from parliament, Scott Morrison insisted […]

UK disputes lack of access to EU science research programmes

London, Aug 17 (AFP/APP):Britain has launched dispute procedures with the European Union over its exclusion from the bloc’s scientific research programmes, using a mechanism set out in a post-Brexit deal. These are the first such legal proceedings launched by the UK against the EU since […]

Violent protests erupt in parts of Kenya over vote

Kisumu, Kenya, Aug 15 (AFP/APP): Violent protests erupted in Raila Odinga’s stronghold of Kisumu and parts of Nairobi after he lost his fifth bid for Kenya’s presidency on Monday, with angry demonstrators alleging vote-rigging as police fired tear gas to disperse them. Odinga, 77, a […]

Target of Bolsonaro attacks to become Brazil election court chief

Brasília, Aug 15 (AFP/APP): Openly reviled by President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes may have to show the stuff that earned him the nickname “RoboCop” as arbiter in polarizing, disinformation-plagued elections to decide the far-right incumbent’s fate. A Supreme Court justice — a […]

Man dies after crashing car, firing gun near US Capitol: police

Washington, Aug 14 (AFP/APP):A man died early Sunday near the US Capitol building after driving his car into a barricade and firing shots into the air before turning his gun on himself, police said. A statement from the US Capitol Police (USCP) did not identify […]

5.9-magnitude quake jolts China’s Qinghai, no casualties reported

BEIJING/XINING, Aug.14 (Xinhua)(APP):A 5.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Zadoi County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China’s Qinghai Province at 4:20 p.m. Beijing Time on Sunday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). The epicenter was monitored at 33.14 degrees north latitude and 92.85 degrees east […]

Pakistan pledges to keep pushing UN to free Kashmir from India’s yoke

NEW YORK, Aug 14 (APP): Highlighting India’s “brutal” military siege of Jammu and Kashmir, now in its 3rd year, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram has said that Islamabad will continue to raise Kashmir’s call for liberation at the United Nations and in all forums. “We […]