PARIS – Gunmen have attacked the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people and injuring 10, French officials say. Witnesses spoke of sustained gunfire at the office as the attackers opened fire with assault rifles before escaping. President Francois Hollande said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack…
NEW YORK – Bill Gates, US business magnate, philanthropist, investor, computer programmer and inventor, is committed to raising awareness around the issue of sanitation in developing countries. Mr Gates funded Janicki Bioenergy, a small engineering firm based outside of Seattle, which makes water from human waste. In a video released recently he drinks the water…
SURUBAYA – The search mission to find the flight data recorders from the crashed AirAsia passenger plane has resumed, as weather conditions improve over the Java Sea. Flight QZ8501 was flying from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore on 28 December when it disappeared from radar. Search teams have recovered 34 bodies but the remains of most…
SEOUL – North Korea has described new sanctions imposed in response to a major cyber-attack against Sony Pictures as part of groundless and hostile US policy. The US placed sanctions on three North Korean organisations and 10 individuals, after the FBI blamed Pyongyang for the cyber-attack. North Korea has denied involvement but has praised the…
JARKATA – At least 40 bodies have been recovered from the sea in the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501, the Indonesian navy says. The bodies were spotted along with debris floating in the Java Sea off the Indonesian part of Borneo, in one of the search zones for the plane. There has been no…
JARKATA – An AirAsia Indonesia airliner flying from Indonesia to Singapore with 162 people on board has lost contact with air traffic control. Flight QZ8501 went missing at around 06:20 local time (23:20 GMT). The plane, an Airbus A320-200, disappeared midway into the flight of more than two hours and no distress call was issued….
HONG KUNG – The 32-year-old son of actor and kung fu star Jackie Chan has been charged with a drug offense and could face up to three years in jail. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate said in a brief statement on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, that it had begun legal proceedings against actor Jaycee…
PESHAWAR – At least 100 people, 80 of them children, have been killed in a Taliban assault on an army-run school in Peshawar, Pakistani officials say. Five or six militants wearing security uniforms entered the school, officials said. Gunfire and explosions were heard as security forces surrounded the area. The army says most of the…
MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin has warned Russians of hard times ahead as he delivers his annual state of the nation address to parliament. Speaking to both chambers in the Kremlin, Mr Putin condemned Western governments for seeking to raise a new iron curtain around Russia. Western sanctions, in response to Russia’s role in eastern…
HONG KONG – Hong Kong police have clashed with pro-democracy activists overnight, briefly shutting down government offices on Monday. Protesters fought police armed with pepper spray, batons and water hoses on Lung Wo Road in the Admiralty district. On Monday, an injunction was granted to clear an area just west of the main Admiralty protest…
