SAN FRANCISCO: More dry-lightning storms hit California yesterday after sparking 625 fires last week as authorities warned the state was trapped in a “megafire era” triggered by climate change. The worst of the wildfires, including the second and third largest in California history, burned in the San Francisco Bay Area […]
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SYDNEY: The Australian state at the centre of the country’s coronavirus second wave today reported 148 new Covid-19 cases, more than the previous day but well down from peak levels, and eight deaths. The majority of new cases reported in recent weeks were in the city of Melbourne, Australia’s second […]
TOKYO: Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, visited a Tokyo hospital today, as concerns grew over his ability to continue in his post, because of health issues and fatigue from handling the coronavirus crisis. If Abe is incapacitated, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, who doubles as finance minister, would take […]
MANILA: Twin blasts that killed 15 people in the volatile southern Philippines could both have been suicide bombings, the military said today, representing an escalation of violence that the army chief said may require martial law to be re-imposed. Yesterday’s explosions on the southwest island of Jolo killed a mix […]
The attack happened in Jolo in Muslim-majority Sulu, where government-backed security forces have long been fighting the Abu Sayyaf group. Jolo, Philippines: At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded — including soldiers and police — in a twin bombing Monday involving a suicide attacker on a southern Philippine […]
MANILA: China’s “nine-dash line” used to claim most of the South China Sea is a fabrication, the Philippine defence minister said, as he accused Beijing of illegally occupying Filipino maritime territory. The remarks late yesterday come amid a fresh row between Manila and Beijing over the disputed Scarborough shoal, which […]
KENOSHA: A Black man was hospitalised in a serious condition yesterday evening after police in the US state of Wisconsin shot him multiple times causing crowds to gather and demonstrate at the scene. The shooting happened at around 5pm local time in the town of Kenosha as officers were responding […]
SYDNEY: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today extended a coronavirus lockdown in the country’s largest city until the end of the week and introduced mandatory mask wearing on public transport across the nation. Ardern said the four-day extension in the city of Auckland was critical to enable the country […]
WASHINGTON: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday he blames Donald Trump for “walking away” as Covid-19 ravaged the country, in a televised interview alongside running mate Kamala Harris on the eve of the Republican convention. The president, who is trailing Biden in polls, has been heavily criticized for his […]
KINMEN (Taiwan): Amid rising tensions with Beijing, the de facto US ambassador in Chinese-claimed Taiwan took part today for the first time in commemorations of a key military clash and the last time Taiwanese forces joined battle with China on a large scale. China has stepped up military activity around […]