South Korean firm backtracks on $130 billion 'treasure ship' gold claims

A South Korean company that claimed to have found the wreck of a Russian warship holding $130 billion in gold said on Thursday it has not verified the existence of any gold, while a financial watchdog said it was probing possible unlawful stock trading.

from Reuters: World News https://ift.tt/2NIRWRA

Blast heard near U.S. Embassy in China in 'suspected self-immolation' attempt

Chinese police took away a woman who sprayed herself with gasoline on Thursday in what was suspected to be a self-immolation attempt outside the U.S. Embassy, the state-run Global Times reported, amid reports of an explosion.

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Police car appears damaged in suspected self-immolation in China

A Chinese police car appeared to have been damaged on Thursday in what state media reported may have been a self-immolation attempt outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, a Reuters witness said.

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Vanilla villainy eats away at Madagascar's sweet reputation

Soaring global prices of vanilla should have been good news for Jao Nasaina, a 58-year-old farmer of the luxury spice on the northeast tip of Madagascar.

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Pakistan's Imran Khan edges closer to power, opponents cry foul

Pakistani cricket icon-turned-politician Imran Khan inched closer to power on Thursday after a general election that has been marred by long delays in ballot counting and claims of rigging by opponents.

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Saudi Arabia suspends oil exports through Red Sea lane after Houthi attack

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was "temporarily halting" all oil shipments through the strategic Red Sea shipping lane of Bab al-Mandeb after an attack on two big oil tankers by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

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Laos scrambles for food, medicines, coffins after dam burst

Troops searched for survivors in the remote southern tip of Laos on Thursday, three days after the collapse of a hydropower dam sent a torrent of water across paddy fields and through villages, as rescuers rushed aid to thousands of homeless.

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Fire rages through London's West Hampstead flat, dozens evacuated

A huge fire broke out in a five-storey residential building in London's West Hampstead in the early hours of Thursday, forcing rescuers to evacuate dozens of people, and it took nearly four hours to douse the blaze, the London Fire Brigade said.

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Japan executes six more cult members of deadly sarin attack

Japan executed six more members of the doomsday cult group Aum Shinrikyo on Thursday that perpetrated the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995.

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'Super Saturday' election trial-run for Australian government

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is vying to secure a 100-year first this weekend by winning a seat from the opposition at a by-election and with it a possible pathway to victory at the next national election due by May 2019.

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No evidence Islamic State responsible for Toronto attack: police

Canadian police said on Wednesday that they had no evidence so far to support claims by the Islamic State militant group that it was responsible for a weekend shooting in Toronto that left two people dead and 13 wounded.

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Suicide attack in Kabul targets security convoy, casualties unclear

A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a convoy of the Afghan national intelligence agency in Kabul early on Thursday, causing an unknown number of casualties, officials said.

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Made in China: Trump re-election flags may get burned by his tariffs

The red, white and blue banners for U.S. President Donald Trump's second-term campaign are ready to ship, emblazoned with the words "Keep America Great!"

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