HGE NEWS

Eastern China is bracing for impact as Typhoon Bavi, the ninth storm of the season, is forecast to make landfall earlier than expected on Saturday night or early Sunday along the coast from Wenling to Rui'an in Zhejiang Province. Revised track and intensity The National Meteorological Center kept its orange typhoon warning in place at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Bavi weakened from a severe typhoon to a typhoon at noon, with maximum sustained winds of 40 m/s (Force 13) near its center

Fitch Ratings raised South Africa's credit rating on Friday, citing stronger fiscal discipline and lower-than-expected debt, marking its first upgrade of the country in more than two decades. The agency lifted the rating one notch to 'BB' from 'BB-', keeping it below investment grade. "The upgrade primarily reflects South Africa's record of prudent fiscal management and progress on fiscal consolidation, despite weak economic growth and domestic and external shocks," the ratin

Traders are facing big losses after Uganda closed its border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo over Ebola contagion fears. Leah Masika was on the verge of tears as she thought of her valuable consignment of plantain stuck in a long convoy of trucks on both sides of the Uganda-Congo border on Thursday. Her cargo, destined for Uganda, was starting to leak water, and would go bad within hours if there was no movement. The Ugandan trader was awaiting clearance from author

Counting is underway in Guinea after Sunday’s legislative and municipal elections. The vote marks a new step towards the return of democratic rule after the 2021 coup that brought President Mamadi Doumbouya to power. Seven million voters were eligible to elect 147 members of parliament. But turnout was reportedly low in the capital Conakry and the central city of Labe. Most candidates were drawn from the presidential camp after the government dissolved the main opposition par

Passengers evacuated from the hantavirus‑stricken cruise ship MV Hondius began flying home on military and government aircraft after the vessel anchored in Tenerife, with one American testing positive and a French traveler developing symptoms during their separate repatriation flights on Sunday. Evacuations under tight biosecurity after ship docks in Tenerife Seventeen Americans were flown out, and U.S. officials confirmed that one tested positive for hantavirus despite showi

Prosecutors on Thursday sought a life sentence for Toshiya Fujita, a senior member of a crime ring behind a series of robbery and fraud cases across the country. The lay-judge trial for 41-year-old Fujita at the Tokyo District Court, presided over by Judge Sakon Togari, concluded with the defense’s final arguments. The verdict is set to be handed down on Feb. 16. On Thursday, the prosecution stated in their closing arguments that Fujita was aware of the use of a crowbar in th

Coogee road rage: Pedestrian crossing dispute sparks wild brawl A simple crossing dispute took a violent turn when one man uttered three words that sparked an explosive confrontation. Wild video shows the moment a disagreement between a driver and a pedestrian escalated into a full on roadside brawl after tempers boiled over. The incident occurred around midday on Sunday in the popular beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee. Bystander Steve said the two men were trading words for

A mother has narrowly avoided jail for stabbing her 14-year-old daughter’s boyfriend when she caught him under the covers in a bedroom of their home. A mother who stabbed her 14-year-old daughter’s boyfriend in the chest after catching him inside a bedroom at their home has narrowly avoided jail. Jennifer Mui Len Chin was handed a two-year suspended sentence after a jury found her guilty of intent to cause bodily harm in the Perth District Court earlier this year. The inciden

Major international media outlets have provided extensive coverage of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, along with the communique issued at the conclusion of the session on Thursday. The reports of foreign media focused on several key aspects of the communique, emphasizing the continuity and stability of the policies, the prioritization of technological self-reliance, and the drive to boost domestic consumption as key co

A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with a security patrol car before both fell into the sea early Monday, killing the two people in the car, authorities said. The plane's four crew members were unhurt. The Boeing 747, flown by Turkey-based ACT Airlines, was landing at Hong Kong International Airport around 3:50 a.m. on arrival from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The aircraft was being operated under lease by Emirates, a long-haul carrier based in Dubai