Asia

Kim Jong-Nam murder trial visits lab to view tainted clothes

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia (AFP) — The trial of two women accused of murdering the North Korean leader’s half-brother moved Monday to a high-security Malaysian laboratory to view clothing worn by the defendants and contaminated by a nerve agent. The visit to the government lab near Kuala Lumpur came after a chemist last week testified there were traces of VX on the women’s clothes. Raja Subramaniam’s testimony was the first evidence directly linking the women to the poison […]

North Koreans celebrates election anniversary of late Kim Jong Il

PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — Thousands of North Koreans gathered at Kim Il Sung square on Sunday (October 8) to mark the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong Il’s election as General-Secretary of the Workers’ Party. Video provided to Reuters by North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, which could not be independently verified, showed people attending an outdoor rally and dance celebrating the anniversary. Kim Jong Il, who died of a heart attack on […]

At least 12 dead, scores missing in Rohingya capsize: officials

  COX’s BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) – At least 12 people died and scores were missing Monday after a boat packed with Rohingya refugees — many of them children — capsized, the latest tragedy to strike those fleeing violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Coast guard and border guard officials said the boat was overloaded with about 100 people when it sank late Sunday in the mouth of the Naf river that separates Myanmar from Bangladesh. Border […]

Turkey suspends all non-immigrant visa services at all diplomatic facilities in U.S.

WASHINGTON, United States (Reuters) — The Turkish embassy in Washington said on Sunday (October 8) it suspended all non-immigrant visa services at all Turkish diplomatic facilities in the United States, after U.S. missions reduced visa services in Turkey. “Recent events have forced the Turkish government to reassess the commitment of government of the United States to the security of Turkish mission facilities and personnel,” the statement by the embassy in Washington said. The decision came […]

Anti-IS force says near ‘final’ week of Raqa fight

by Maya Gebeily and Gihad Darwish Agence France Presse RAQA, Syria (AFP) — US-backed fighters battling to oust the Islamic State group from Syria’s Raqa were nearing the “final week” of their assault, the campaign’s commander told AFP on Sunday. The Syrian Democratic Forces have captured around 90 percent of IS’s one-time bastion and are closing in on the jihadists in a pocket of territory near Raqa city centre. Captured by IS in 2014, the […]

Japan’s Koike says her party offers centrist choice to voters

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Sunday (October 8) her new party aims to offer voters a “middle of the fairway” choice, seeking to differentiate her group from ruling, conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and smaller, left-leaning opposition parties. Koike’s Party of Hope has emerged as a formidable challenge to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the Oct. 22 election, promising to freeze a planned 2019 sales tax […]

Bangladeshi boy dies at 17 after being hit by cricket ball

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — A Bangladeshi teenager died in hospital in Dhaka after he was hit by a ball while umpiring a cricket match, police said on Saturday. Rafiqul Islam, 17, was declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital late Friday after being rushed there in critical condition following the incident at Balur Math ground in Bangladesh’s capital. “A group of youths were playing cricket in the field and the boy was the umpire. He […]

China releases world’s first quantum communication crypto cloud server

CCTV — Two Chinese high-tech firms have recently released the world’s first quantum communication crypto cloud server, a breakthrough in the fast computing arena. The quantum cryptography or QC server is a collaboration between Dawning Information Industry Co. and CAS Quantum Co., which are affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The server features a quantum communication-based key management system, a secure operation platform and a cloud computing operating system developed to create urban and […]

Japan’s Koike pins hopes on tax, nuclear to unseat Abe

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The popular governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, Friday unveiled her policy platform to unseat Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pledging to scrap nuclear power by 2030 and freeze a planned tax hike. Koike, who has shaken up the sleepy world of Japanese politics with her new Party of Hope, aims to distinguish herself from Abe with her vow to phase out nuclear power in Japan, still haunted by the 2011 Fukushima meltdown. […]

Kim Jong-Nam may have been poisoned by other suspects, trial told

SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (AFP) — Other suspects could have poisoned the half-brother of North Korea’s leader besides the two women on trial for his audacious assassination in Malaysia, an expert witness said Wednesday. Pathologist Mohamad Shah Mahmood said it was possible four other suspects who are mentioned in the charge sheet but are still at large could have administered a nerve agent before Kim Jong-Nam was attacked by the women. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese […]

Putin calls for better US ties as he meets new US envoy

  by Anna Smolchenko Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for “predictable and mutually beneficial” ties with the United States as he received diplomatic credentials from Washington’s new ambassador to Moscow. The US Senate last week confirmed businessman, veteran diplomat and former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman as ambassador to Russia, filling a crucial post at a time when ties are at dangerously low ebb. “As far as […]

Rohingya fleeing Myanmar say army redoubling push to clear villages

  SHAH PORIR DWIP, Bangladesh (AFP) — Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh amid a fresh exodus from strife-torn Myanmar have described whole villages being emptied and thousands marching to the border as security forces redouble efforts to drive the remaining Muslims from their homes. More than 500,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled ethnic bloodshed in Myanmar in the past month and numbers are again swelling, with Bangladesh reporting 4-5,000 civilians now crossing the border each day after a brief […]