JALALABAD: At least three people were killed and 19 others were injured in twin explosions in Jalalabad, Afghanistan international media reported quoting a government spokesperson.
Two children and eight security forces were among the casualties. It was not clear what caused the explosions.
No group took immediate responsibility, reports added.
HERAT: Hundreds of Taliban fighters stormed a district in Afghanistan’s western Badghis province, killing dozen government forces, provincial officials said.
The Taliban killed 36 members of the government forces and captured several security checkpoints in attacks that began on Wednesday night, Waris Sherzad, district governor of Bala Murghab, said late on Thursday. Fighting was ongoing, he said.
Fighting in Afghanistan has escalated ahead of the usual spring season, as both sides seek to increase leverage in talks on a peace settlement.
It attacked from four directions, capturing five security checkpoints, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s defense ministry, in a series of tweets, said its forces chose to “tactically retreat” from the checkpoints to prevent civilian casualties.
(Agencies)
WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States and China were very close to a trade deal, media reports said.
He said it could be announced within four weeks, however, warning Beijing that it would not be easy to allow trade to continue without a deal.
The U.S. and China are currently engaged in intense negotiations to end a months-long trade war.
Hopes of a resolution got high after both countries expressed optimism after talks in Beijing last week.
“We’re very close to making a deal. This, however, doesn’t mean a deal is made,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. (Agencies)
BEIJING: Ford Motor is planning to launch more than 30 new models in China over the next three years, the U.S. automaker said on Wednesday.
Ford had earlier said it would launch 50 new or significantly redesigned vehicles in China starting in 2018 and through 2025.
However, today’s announcement provided more clarity on the timeline.
Anning Chen, the automaker’s China operations chief said they are committing themselves to improving their relationships with Chinese joint-venture partners. (Agencies)
YANGON: At least twenty people were killed with 113 others injured in traffic accidents on Myanmar’s Yangon-Mandalay highway in March, local media reported.
According to the Highway Police Office of Myanmar, there were a total of 51 road accident cases reported on the Myanmar’s busiest highway in March alone.
Officials said the highway accidents were usually caused by human errors such as over-speeding, negligent driving, and drowsy driving, reports said.
The highway police force have been urging people to comply with traffic laws.
In 2018, there were a total of 473 accidents, leaving 103 deaths and 877 injured on the 587-km long Yangon-Mandalay highway. (Agencies)
WASHINGTON: American hackers reportedly helped the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spy on a BBC host, the chairman of Al Jazeera among others during a confrontation between UAE and Qatar in 2017.
A Reuters investigation said the American operatives worked for Project Raven, a secret Emirati intelligence program that spied on dissidents, militants and political opponents of the UAE monarchy.
The Raven operatives — who included at least nine former employees of the U.S. National Security Agency and the U.S. military — found themselves thrust into the thick of a high-stakes dispute among America’s Gulf allies.
The Americans’ role in the UAE-Qatar imbroglio highlights how former U.S. intelligence officials have become key players in the cyber wars of other nations, with little oversight from Washington.
The crisis erupted in the spring of 2017, when the UAE and its allies — including Saudi Arabia and Egypt — accused Qatar of sowing unrest in the Middle East through its support of media outlets and political groups.
(Agencies)
Japan has unveiled a new name “Reiwa” for the imperial era that begins on May 1.
Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne on that day.
“Reiwa” will be the name for the new era when Crown Prince Naruhito succeeds his father, Emperor Akihito.
Emperor Akihito’s abdication will end the 31-year Heisei era on April 30.
The imperial era name — “gengo” — is used on documents, calendars, newspapers, and coins. This is the way Japanese count years.
Gengo
Japan imported the imperial calendar system some 1,300 years ago from China.
Likewise, starting with the Meiji era — 1868-1912 — it adopted the practice of “one emperor, one era name.”
In Japan, there have been four era names: Meiji, Taisho (1912-1926), Showa (1926-1989) and the Heisei.
Selection
The era name, under the modern guidelines, should be appropriate to the ideals of the nation. They consist of two Chinese characters, and should be easy to read and write. It should not have been used in a previous combination.
Japan’s emperor does not choose the “gengo”. The cabinet will decide from a list of names suggested by bureaucrats and scholars.
Earlier, the characters were selected from ancient Chinese texts. However, this time, they were extracted from a collection of Japanese poetry called Manyoshu.
The first character is understood to mean “order” or “command”. However, it can also mean “good” and “beautiful”. The second character is understood as “peace” or “harmony”.
Fading
The use of the imperial era name is gradually declining as Japan adopts global economy.
A recent poll carried out by Mainichi newspaper showed 34 percent of people used mainly gengo in daily life. Likewise, 34 percent used both gengo and the Western calendar, while a quarter used mostly the Western system.
Meanwhile, 82 percent used mainly gengo in 1975, while 13 percent used both and only 4 percent mainly the Western system.
Similarly, government agencies and offices mostly use the imperial era in their paperwork or computer systems. However, several companies generally use the Western calendar. (Agencies)
BEIJING: At least 26 firefighters have been killed while tackling a forest fire in south-western China, media reports said.
Fire fighters had been battling the blaze in the forest of Sichuan province on Sunday when a sudden change in wind direction caused a fireball, trapping them, officials said.
Twenty-six have been confirmed dead and a search is continuing for the other four firefighters, said.
Around 700 firefighters are battling the blaze in a remote area of Muli County. (Agencies)
BEIJING: A plant explosion in China’s Jiangsu province killed seven people, state media reported. Five other have been injured.
Today’s incident took place 10 days after a blast at a pesticide plant killed 78 people in the province.
The blast involved a container of scrap metal that caught fire in a metal-molding plant in Kunshan city, news agencies said.
The cause of the blast was under investigation. (Agencies)
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia said it plans to issue 118 billion riyals ($31.5 billion) in debt this year.
This has been aimed at helping finance the national budget deficit, the country’s Debt Management Office (DMO) said.
Media reports say the country has borrowed extensively over the past few years to refill state coffers exhausted by a drop in oil prices.
Reports said at the end of 2018, Saudi Arabia had around $150 billion in outstanding government debt of which 54 percent was in local currency and the rest denominated in U.S. dollars.
The country issued $7.5 billion in international bonds in January.
By the end of 2019, Saudi Arabia has planned to have around $181 billion in outstanding debt, media reports said. (Agencies)