News

Australia to start powerful public inquiry into aged care sector

Lidia Kelly, Reuters
Sep 17 07:15 AM

The inquiry comes at a time when the number of Australians moving into residential care is set to jump, with the population aged 65 years and above, according to official data, forecast to more than double to 8.9 million by 2055. Read more »

As floodwaters rise, deadly storm Florence devastates North Carolina

Anna Mehler Paperny and Ernest Scheyder, Reuters
Sep 17 07:06 AM

NORTH CAROLINA - Deadly storm Florence drenched North Carolina with more downpours on Sunday, cutting off the city of Wilmington, damaging tens of thousands of homes and threatening worse flooding as rivers fill to bursting point.  Read more »

Professor speaks out about 'sexual assault' by Trump Supreme Court pick

Issam Ahmed, Agence France-Presse
Sep 17 07:03 AM | Updated Sep 17 08:08 AM

WASHINGTON - A college professor went public for the first time Sunday to accuse President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s, prompting calls by opposition Democrats to postpone the nomination vote. Read more »

Dining couple fall ill in UK town hit by poisoning: police

Agence France-Presse
Sep 17 06:47 AM

LONDON, United Kingdom - British police on Sunday sealed off part of Salisbury, where a Russian ex-spy and his daughter were poisoned by Novichok, after 2 people fell ill at a restaurant on Sunday following a "medical incident."  Read more »

China tells Taiwan to halt all mainland spying, sabotage activities

Reuters
Sep 16 05:18 PM

BEIJING - China on Sunday accused Taiwan's spy agencies of stepping up efforts to steal intelligence with the aim of "infiltration" and "sabotage", and warned the island against further damaging already strained cross-strait ties. Read more »

All the stars in the night sky

Shamil Zhumatov, Reuters
Sep 16 05:03 PM | Updated Sep 16 05:19 PM

A participant with her face decorated with fluorescent paint smiles before the YARKOcross Night Edition color run race in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Read more »

Storm Florence weakens but epic rains still expected on US east coast

Anna Mehler Paperny, Reuters
Sep 16 04:33 PM

Tropical Storm Florence was likely to weaken on Sunday as it swept through the Carolinas but dozens of communities are devastated and "epic" amounts of rain could still fall, officials said. Read more »

Supertyphoon heads for Hong Kong, China after pummeling Philippines

James Pomfret and Enrico Dela Cruz, Reuters
Sep 16 04:16 PM

HONG KONG/MANILA - A supertyphoon swirled towards Hong Kong and the Chinese coast on Sunday, gaining in strength over the South China Sea after hurtling through the Philippines, where it wreaked havoc that killed at least 25. Read more »

Australia offers reward amid mystery strawberry needle scare

Agence France-Presse
Sep 16 03:55 PM

SYDNEY, Australia - An Australian state has offered a large reward for information after sewing needles were found in strawberries sold in supermarkets, in what the federal health minister described as a "vicious crime". Read more »

Indonesia's quake-hit Lombok battles with malaria, 137 infected

Agence France-Presse
Sep 16 03:47 PM

MATARAM, Indonesia - A malaria outbreak has infected at least 137 people in Indonesia's West Lombok after the island was rocked by a series of earthquakes in recent months, an official said Sunday.  Read more »

Samsung heir in South Korea's delegation to North: Seoul

Agence France-Presse
Sep 16 03:11 PM

The heir to the Samsung empire and the leaders of several other South Korean conglomerates will go to Pyongyang this week for an inter-Korean summit, Seoul announced Sunday. Read more »

Pope Francis expels Chilean priest accused of child sex abuse

Reuters
Sep 16 09:57 AM

The Archdiocese of Santiago said the Pope had decided to defrock the Reverend Cristian Precht Read more »

Dalai Lama: I knew of sex abuse by Buddhist teachers since 1990s

Agence France-Presse
Sep 16 08:29 AM

The Dalai Lama said Saturday that he has known about sexual abuse by Buddhist teachers since the 1990s and that such allegations are "nothing new." Read more »

Filipinos in Hong Kong hunker down for Mangkhut

ABS-CBN News
Sep 16 07:26 AM | Updated Sep 16 11:30 AM

Filipinos in Hong Kong hunkered down with the rest of the island on Sunday as Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) neared, after leaving a trail of destruction in the Philippines. Read more »

France to replace 'Exit Tax' on capital gains, target fiscal cheats

Reuters
Sep 16 06:47 AM

Its aim was to stop individuals temporarily changing their tax domicile in order to skirt French taxes but pro-business President Emmanuel Macron says it damages France's attractiveness as an investment destination. Read more »

Flood waters rise as Florence pummels Carolinas; at least 8 dead

Anna Mehler Paperny, Reuters
Sep 16 06:31 AM

slow march over the two states, crawling west at only 2 miles per hour (3 km per hour), is expected to leave large parts of the region deluged in the coming days. Read more »

Gunmen dressed as mariachis kill four in Mexico City tourist plaza

Agence France-Presse
Sep 16 06:26 AM

MEXICO CITY -- Gunmen dressed as mariachi musicians opened fire in Mexico City's famed Plaza Garibaldi, killing four people and wounding nine others including a foreigner, police said on Saturday. Read more »

In Sicily, Pope hails 'martyr' priest who defied 'blasphemous' mafia

Catherine Marciano, Agence France-Presse
Sep 16 02:59 AM

His impassioned plea echoed the words of Jean Paul II who in 1993 trip had also called on mobsters to abandon crime and urged Sicilians to revolt against the mafia. Read more »

Florence lumbers inland, leaving five dead, communities flooded

Ernest Scheyder, Reuters
Sep 15 10:05 PM | Updated Sep 15 10:32 PM

Tropical storm Florence lumbered inland on Saturday, knocking down trees, flooding rivers, and dumping sheets of rain in the Carolinas where five people have died. Read more »

Filipinos in Hong Kong urged to prepare in advance of Mangkhut

ABS-CBN News
Sep 15 06:32 PM | Updated Sep 15 06:33 PM

More than 227,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong were instructed by the Philippine consulate general to stay indoors and defer any planned travels or outdoor activities. Read more »

Mother and baby fall victim to Florence's wrath

Sébastien Duval, Agence France-Presse
Sep 15 11:44 AM | Updated Sep 15 11:48 AM

WILMINGTON, United States – Taking cover as Hurricane Florence unleashed fury on the US port city of Wilmington, Adam Sparks heard "a loud pop."   Read more »

Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina

ABS-CBN News
Sep 15 01:54 AM

Hurricane Florence makes landfall over the state of North Carolina.  Read more »

Much of Carolinas awash after Hurricane Florence moves in

Ernest Scheyder, Reuters
Sep 15 12:30 AM

About 10 million people could be affected by the storm and more than 1 million were ordered to evacuate the coasts of the Carolinas and Virginia. Read more »

Ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort pleads guilty, to cooperate in collusion probe

Agence France-Presse
Sep 15 12:22 AM

Paul Manafort agreed Friday to cooperate in the special counsel investigation of possible campaign collusion with Russia. Read more »

Southeast Asian cyber-security center opens in Thailand

Patpicha Tanakasempipat, Reuters
Sep 14 09:32 PM

About 700 cyber-security personnel from Southeast Asia are expected to graduate from the Japan-designed programs, which include cyber defense, digital forensics and malware analysis. Read more »