BBC Countries began evacuating their citizens Wednesday from the Chinese city hardest-hit by an outbreak of a new virus that has killed 132 people and infected more than 6,000 on the mainland and abroad. A Japanese flight carrying evacuees home included four people with coughs and fevers, two of whom were diagnosed with pneumonia. The
AFP Thousands of supporters of populist Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr gathered in Baghdad on Friday for a rally to demand the ouster of US troops, putting the protest-hit capital on edge. The march rattled the separate, months-old protest movement that has gripped the capital and Shiite-majority south since October, demanding a government overhaul, early elections
AFP Chinese authorities rapidly expanded a mammoth quarantine effort aimed at containing a deadly contagion on Friday to 13 cities and a staggering 41 million people, as nervous residents were checked for fevers and the death toll climbed to 26. While the World Health Organization (WHO) held off on declaring a global emergency despite confirmed
AFP Lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff called dramatically for the Senate to remove President Donald Trump from office Thursday, saying the US leader cannot be trusted to put the country’s interests ahead of his own. “The American people deserve a president they can count on, to put their interest first,” said Schiff. His impassioned
AFP Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun sought to pivot from a bruising period of crisis and scandal on Wednesday, pledging a renewed commitment to safety and transparency and endorsing the long-term viability of the 737 MAX plane. “I commit to you to be more accessible than the team has been,” Calhoun said at the outset
BBC A sense of anxiety is growing in Wuhan as the Chinese city goes into lockdown in an effort to control the spread of a new virus which has left 17 dead. The authorities have suspended planes and trains in and out of the city of 11 million people, as well as buses, subways and
AFP China has confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission in the outbreak of a new SARS-like virus as the number of cases soared and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it would consider declaring an international public health emergency. The coronavirus, which has spread to three other Asian countries and infected more than 200 people in
AFP Iran’s civil aviation authority confirmed two missiles were fired at a Ukrainian airliner that was brought down earlier this month, in a preliminary report posted on its website late on Monday. “Investigators… discovered that two Tor-M1 missiles… were fired at the aircraft,” it said, adding an investigation was ongoing to assess the bearing their
AFP The historic impeachment trial of Donald Trump opened Thursday in the US Senate, as lawmakers took a solemn oath to be “impartial” in deciding whether to force the 45th US president from office. For just the third time in American history, the hushed Senate chamber was transformed into a court of impeachment, presided over
AFP Heavy rain fell across parts of fire-ravaged eastern Australia on Thursday and more wet weather was forecast, giving some relief following months of catastrophic blazes fuelled by climate change. The fires, unprecedented for Australia in terms of duration and intensity, have claimed 28 lives and killed an estimated billion animals. Sustained hot weather and
AFP Britain’s Prince Harry was to make his first public appearance on Thursday since he and his wife Meghan’s bombshell decision to quit as full-time royals. The Duke of Sussex was to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup draw at Buckingham Palace, with all eyes on whether he will address the still-unresolved royal crisis.
BBC Further talks are needed over the costs of security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s move to Canada, the country’s prime minister has said. Justin Trudeau said the funding and shape of the plans are to be discussed. The Queen has agreed a “period of transition” in which Prince Harry and Meghan will
AFP UN Security Council ambassadors stood for a minute of silence on Monday in memory of 89 soldiers killed last week during a jihadist assault on a Niger military base. The 15 members of the council “strongly condemn” the attack, said Dan Dinh Quy, the ambassador for Vietnam which holds the council’s rotating presidency for
AP Popular anger swelled Monday in Iran over the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner and the government’s attempt to conceal its role in the tragedy, as online videos appeared to show security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse protests in the streets. Iranians, already suffering under crippling U.S. sanctions, expressed shock
AFP A Japanese billionaire has launched an online wanted ad for a girlfriend who will fly around the Moon with him on a SpaceX rocket. Yusaku Maezawa, who recently announced his break-up with a Japanese actress, is accepting applications from “single women aged 20 or over” who want to enjoy life to the fullest. The
AFP Queen Elizabeth II and other senior British royals were gathering for a meeting Monday with Prince Harry in an attempt to solve the crisis triggered by his bombshell announcement that he and wife Meghan were stepping back from the royal frontline. Harry’s father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, with whom he has strained
BBC Retired Pope Benedict XVI has issued a defence of priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church as his successor considers easing a ban on married men serving as priests. Pope Benedict made the appeal in a book co-authored with Cardinal Robert Sarah. It comes in response to a proposal to allow married men to be
BBC A volcano in the Philippines has begun spewing lava, as authorities warn that a “hazardous eruption” is possible “within hours or days”. In the early hours of Monday weak lava began flowing out of Taal volcano – located some 70km (45 miles) south of the capital Manila. It comes after it emitted a huge
BBC Iran’s leaders are facing growing calls to dismiss senior officials after a Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down killing all 176 people on board. Thousands of protesters demanded accountability on Saturday after the military said it had mistakenly downed the jet, having earlier denied it. Riot police have been deployed and there are reports
BBC Iran has admitted “unintentionally” shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people on board. An investigation found that “missiles fired due to human error”, President Hassan Rouhani said. He described the crash as an “unforgivable mistake”. The military said the jet turned towards a sensitive site belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and
