Wednesday, 30 July 2025

Author: AFP

Victim a ‘bridge’ between communities

TOKYO: The only Japanese victim of the Sri Lankan suicide bombings was a married mother of two young children who had lived in Colombo for four years and taught locals Japanese flower arranging and how to wear kimonos. Kaori Takahashi, 39, had been in Sri Lanka since 2015 with her

Sri Lankan cricketer recounts church bombing horror

NEGOMBO: Sri Lankan cricketer Dasun Shanaka barely survived one of the deadly blasts that killed more than 320 people in the island nation on Easter Sunday, and says the horrific scenes have left him “scared” to go out. The 27-year-old all rounder skipped Easter service at St Sebastian’s Church in

UN : At least 45 children killed in Sri Lanka attacks

Geneva: At least 45 children were among the more than 320 people killed in suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka, the United Nations said Tuesday. “The total now is 45 children who died,” Unicef spokesman Christophe Boulierac told reporters in Geneva. He added that the toll from the Sunday attacks

Diplomat handpicked by ruler for president

NUR-SULTAN: The career diplomat who is a shoo-in to become only the second president of ex-Soviet Kazakhstan since its independence has always appeared to prize loyalty over political ambition. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 65, on Tuesday won the backing of the party of Kazakhstan’s former ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev, making it all but

Anti-Brexit party launch as MPs return from break

LONDON: A new pro-EU political party is launching its campaign Tuesday for next month’s European elections, as British lawmakers return from an Easter break to fresh bids to topple Prime Minister Theresa May. The government and the main opposition Labour party are also set to resume talks later to resolve

It was time for Bashir to go, residents of home village say

HOSH BANNAGA: Residents of deposed Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir’s home village are still coming to terms with his ouster, but most agree that the time had come for him to go. “I’m from his village and I did not benefit from his rule,” said Mohamedali Abdel Hamid, a farmer from

Algeria’s richest man held in jail in graft probe

ALGIERS: Algeria’s richest man Issad Rebrab has been detained in jail on the public prosecutor’s orders, state media reported Tuesday a day after his arrest as part of a corruption probe. The crackdown on alleged graft follows the resignation of veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in early April after weeks of

Former French PM Fillon to face trial over fake jobs

PARIS: Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, whose 2017 bid for the presidency was torpedoed by a fake job scandal involving his wife, will face trial over the allegations, a judicial source told AFP on Tuesday. Investigating judges have recommended a trial for Fillon and his British wife Penelope on

New powerful tremor strikes as Philippines hunts for survivors

PORAC: Philippine rescuers were scrambling Tuesday to reach some two dozen people feared buried under a building near Manila that collapsed a day earlier in a strong earthquake, as a powerful new tremor hit the nation. The US Geological Survey put the fresh quake on the central island of Samar

‘Big-hearted’ US technician among Sri Lanka dead

WASHINGTON: A “big-hearted” technician who was visiting Sri Lanka for work was among at least four Americans killed in the Easter attacks on churches and hotels, his employer said Monday. Dieter Kowalski, who worked for British educational and publishing company Pearson, wrote a final Facebook posting as he flew out