PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines – Philippine officials say China has continued with its major island-making work in at least two reefs in the South China Sea’s Spratly island chain, casting doubt on a Chinese pronouncement that some of its massive construction in seven sites there would end soon. Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon …
Read More »
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An indebted Dubai real estate developer says it will repay more than half a billion dollars in money owed to banks and trade creditors as part of its financial restructuring. The state-controlled company, Limitless, said Monday that more than 90 percent of the $564 million …
Read More »
JERUSALEM – Israel has deported a group of pro-Palestinian activists, including a former Tunisian president, who tried to breach its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said among those sent home Tuesday was former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki. Another 14 people on board the activist …
Read More »
BEIJING – Beijing has expressed displeasure with Turkey for accepting 174 members of the Uighur ethnic minority who fled China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday that Beijing opposes “any actions that aid and abet, or even support illegal migration.” The Uighur group, mostly women and children, arrived …
Read More »
GUATEMALA CITY – Government-backed experts say former Guatemalan dictator Jose Efrain Rios Montt is mentally incompetent, potentially derailing a trial on human rights charges. The July 1 opinion by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences determined the 89-year-old is incapable of understanding the charges against him and of participating in …
Read More »
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s official news agency says that an explosion at a steel mill in the central Iranian city of Isfahan has killed three workers and injured four. IRNA says the explosion happened on Thursday morning when workers were melting scrap metal. The casualties were taken to local hospitals. …
Read More »
N’DJAMENA, Chad – Witnesses say an explosion has occurred at the central market in Chad’s capital. The blast Saturday morning came less than a month after suicide bombers on motorcycles attacked two buildings in N’Djamena, killing nearly 40 people in the first assault of its kind since Islamic militants threatened …
Read More »
LONDON – The British government says a rising number of deaths in custody risks undermining public confidence in the police. The Independent Police Complaints Commission said Thursday that 17 people died in or after police detention in the year to March 31, six more than in 2013-14 and the highest …
Read More »
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – An active underwater volcano off Grenada’s northern coast called Kick ’em Jenny was rumbling Thursday and regional disaster authorities were put on alert, though they said it posed no threat of triggering a destructive tsunami. Since its discovery in the 1930s, Kick ’em Jenny has erupted …
Read More »
LONDON – An Italian investment group owned by the Agnelli family has confirmed it is in talks with Pearson PLC to increase its stake in the Economist Group. Exor S.p.A., which has been a shareholder in the business since 2009, said the discussions also include the Economist Group’s trustees, who …
Read More »