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Joint effort to battle Portuguese wildfires

VILA DE REI/MACAO, Portugal – Blazes in central Portugal reached houses on Sunday, forcing locals to take matters into their own hands as they tried to protect their homes from huge wildfires with buckets of water and hosepipes as strong winds fanned the flames.

‘Apologise to America’, Trump tells Democratic congresswomen

WASHINGTON – United States President Donald Trump on Sunday stepped up his attacks on four liberal Democrats in Congress, all women of colour who have criticised his policies, calling on them to apologise as he himself faced charges of racism.

Ben Stokes nominated for New Zealander of the Year

WELLINGTON – After ripping the heart out of New Zealand’s bleary-eyed cricket fans on Sunday with a man-of-the-match performance in the Cricket World Cup final, England all-rounder Ben Stokes has now been nominated for the New Zealander of the Year award.

Russians protest barring of opposition candidates from elections

MOSCOW – More than 10 000 people took to the streets of Moscow on Saturday to protest against the exclusion of most opposition-minded candidates from an election for the Russian capital’s legislature.

Puerto Ricans demand that governor quit

Thousands of Puerto Ricans, led by protesters on horseback with some banging drums and singing, marched on the governor’s residence on Friday demanding that he resign over hundreds of vulgar and offensive leaked chat messages.

Rapper Meek Mill seeks new trial to end decade-long probation

PHILADELPHIA – Lawyers for Meek Mill on Tuesday asked a Pennsylvania appeals court to overturn a 2008 drugs and gun conviction that has kept the rapper on probation for a decade and made him a celebrity advocate for United States criminal justice reform.

Hundreds protest in New York after police officer avoids charges in chokehold case

NEW YORK – Several hundred people took to the streets of New York on Wednesday to protest a decision by the United States Department of Justice not to bring federal charges against a policeman accused in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man in 2014.

234 000 old folks 'missing'

18 September 2010

TOKYO, Japan – Something’s fishy in Japan, and it’s not the sushi. A string of macabre discoveries of dead centenarians has prompted the Japanese government to recheck their numbers and, so far, the results are disturbing. Read More

Dying mum: Ten docs missed my stomach cancer

18 September 2010

BIRMINGHAM, England – A mum of three has been given just weeks to live after ten hospital doctors and her own physician missed telltale signs of cancer. Angela Skeffington, 43, claims blundering medics continually misdiagnosed her stomach cancer as period pains,... Read More

Woman not 'lashed, tortured'

17 September 2010

Tehran – Iranian state TV has aired footage of a woman, claiming to be the one sentenced to death by stoning, saying she has not been lashed or tortured. Read More

Mostly cheers for Pope

16 September 2010

Edinburgh – Pope Benedict has said he wants to "extend the hand of friendship" to the whole of Britain during his visit. Read More

Brave battle

15 September 2010

CANÇUN, Mexico – A strong Tropical Storm Karl made landfall on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula yesterday, hitting a sparsely populated stretch of Caribbean coast, while two Category 4 hurricanes roared further out in the Atlantic. Read More

Plea for sisters serving life

15 September 2010

Nearly 400 protesters marched to the governor's mansion and the Capitol, in Jackson, Mississippi, today, to call for the release of two sisters who are serving life sentences for a robbery Read More

Motorcycle gang 'plotted murderous assault'

15 September 2010

CENTRAL ISLIP, New York – Members of the Pagans motorcycle gang plotted to use grenades in a murderous assault on members of the rival Hells Angels Read More

US$30m to fight Colombia's traffickers

15 September 2010

WASHINGTON, United States – Citing improvements in Colombia’s human rights record, the Obama administration freed up more than US$30 million in assistance to the country’s military Read More

France bans Islamic veil

14 September 2010

PARIS – The French Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill banning the burqa-style Islamic veil on public streets and other places, a measure that affects fewer than 2 000 women but that has been widely seen as a symbolic defence of French values. Read More

American freed from Iran prison

14 September 2010

TEHRAN, Iran – In just a few dizzying hours, American Sarah Shourd exchanged a cell in Tehran’s Evin Prison for a private jet crossing the Persian Gulf Read More

Oprah sending audience to Australia

14 September 2010

SYDNEY – Oprah Winfrey might have surprised her talk show audience on Monday by giving them all a free, eight-day trip to Australia, but the trip also surprised Australians – with an AUS$3 million (BDS$5.6 million) bill. Read More

14 killed in plane crash

13 September 2010

CARACAS – A plane carrying 51 people crashed yesterday in eastern Venezuela, and officials said 33 survived while at least 14 were killed. Read More

Bail 'too high' for American held in Iran

13 September 2010

TEHRAN, Iran – The family of an American woman detained in Iran for more than a year is appealing to authorities to drop a $500 000 bail for her release because they cannot afford it, her lawyer said. Read More

Newborn found in garbage bag

13 September 2010

MANILA, Philippines – Authorities at Manila’s airport found a newborn baby in a garbage bag that was apparently unloaded from an airplane that landed yesterday from the Middle East, officials said. Read More

Fire victims return home

13 September 2010

BOULDER, Colorado – Colorado crews let hundreds of evacuees return to their scorched homes yesterday as investigators probed the cause of a devastating wildfire that has burned ten square miles near Boulder. Read More

New voting machines could bring NY chaos

13 September 2010

NEW YORK – New electronic voting machines are being introduced in tomorrow’s primary. State and city budget cuts mean not enough staff have been trained to help voters use them. Read More

Bus slams into low bridge, kills four

11 September 2010

SALINA, New York – A double-decker bus that may have made a wrong turn off the highway slammed into a low railroad bridge in the pre-dawn darkness yesterday in a wreck that killed four passengers and critically injured others, authorities said. Read More