Floods, landslides claim 64 lives in Japan
HIROSHIMA, July 08 (Agencies): Parts of western Japan hit by deadly floods and landslides are facing unprecedented danger as more downpours are expected, officials warn."We've never experienced this kind of rain before," a weather official said.Some 64 people are dead and dozens missing after record rainfall caused rivers to burst...
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Turkey sacks 18,500 staff before expected end of coup emergency
ANKARA, July 08 (AFP): Turkish authorities on Sunday ordered the dismissal of more than 18,500 state employees, including police officers, soldiers and academics, ahead of the expected end of a two-year state of emergency this month.The Official Gazette said 18,632 people had been sacked including 8,998 police officers over suspected...
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Strike, curfew shut Kashmir on rebel's death anniversary
SRINAGAR, July 08 (AP): Armed police and soldiers fanned out across much of Indian-controlled Kashmir to enforce a security lockdown on Sunday as separatists challenging Indian rule called for a shutdown and protests on the second anniversary of the killing of a charismatic rebel leader.Government forces patrolled deserted streets and...
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Niger will welcome migrants
NIAMEY, July 08 (AFP): Niger will continue to be a transit country for migrants, including those entering from neighbouring Libya, President Mahamadou Issoufou said Saturday."We are a people open to hospitality, we are a generous people. We will welcome people who are in difficulty, who are in disarray. It is...
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Ethiopia's PM in Eritrea on landmark visit
ASMARA, July 08 (Al Jazeera): With hugs and cheers, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have met for the first time in more than 20 years amid a recent thawing in relations between the two long-time East African rivals. In a landmark visit, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed landed in...
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IS attack leaves five security members dead in Iraq
BAGHDAD, July 08 (Xinhua): Five security members were killed and three others wounded Sunday in an attack by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a provincial police source said.The incident occurred when IS militants attacked a joint patrol of Iraqi army and Sunni tribal fighters with...
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Iran threatens to retaliate as Netherlands expels diplomats
TEHRAN, July 08 (AFP): Iran protested on Sunday against the Netherlands' expulsion of two of its diplomats and threatened to retaliate for the "unfriendly and destructive move".A spokesman for the Dutch intelligence service AIVD told AFP on Friday that two employees of Iran's embassy had been expelled on June 7,...
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News in Brief -(09-07-2018
34 militants die in Afghan driveMAZAR-E-SHARIF, July 08: More than 30 militants have been killed and more than a dozen other were injured in Chamtal district of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province since Saturday, police spokesman in the northern region Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said Sunday. "Up to 34 rebels have been...
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