Asia

China remains world’s biggest executioner: Amnesty

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China executed more people in 2016 than all other nations combined, Amnesty International said Tuesday, as death penalties in the world decreased overall. The human rights organisation estimates the Asian giant alone killed “thousands” of people, a figure based on examinations of court records and news reports. All other countries together executed at least 1,032 people last year — a decline of 37 percent compared to 2015. China was one of […]

Circus arts help Syrian children make new life

by Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi Agence France Presse MARDIN, Syria (AFP) — Laughter rings out and there is an atmosphere of excitement and joyful chaos. Children are perched on stilts, others spin plates or happily perform aerial dances. This is not a big top circus in a major city but a house in southeastern Turkey, where Syrian refugee children learn circus tricks in an innovative programme to help integrate into their foreign host country. The Her Yerde Sanat […]

China nuclear envoy in talks on North Korea threat

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — China’s top nuclear envoy arrived in Seoul Monday for talks on the North Korean threat, as a US naval strike group headed to the region in a show of force. President Donald Trump, fresh from a missile strike on Syria that was widely interpreted as putting Pyongyang on warning, has asked to be provided with a range of options for eliminating the North’s nuclear capabilities. “Presidents before and President Trump […]

South Korea says U.S. Navy strike group move reflects seriousness of situation in the Korean peninsula

SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said on Monday (April 10) the U.S. Navy’s decision to redirect its Carl Vinson strike group to near the Korean peninsula is an indication of the seriousness of the situation in the area. A U.S. Navy strike group that includes a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is headed to near the Korean peninsula on Monday, diverted from a scheduled destination of Australia, as concerns grew […]

Indian anchor reads report of husband’s death on live TV

RAIPUR, India (AFP) — An Indian television presenter has been praised for her calmness and bravery after reading out a breaking news report of a road accident which killed her husband. Supreet Kaur was presenting a news bulletin on the IBC-24 news channel in Chhattisgarh state on Saturday when a reporter phoned in live with details of an accident which killed three of the five people travelling in a sport utility vehicle. The report did not name […]

Strike kills 15 near Syria’s IS-held Raqa: monitor

  BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — At least 15 civilians, including four children, were killed in a suspected US-led coalition airstrike on Saturday near the Islamic State group’s Syrian bastion Raqa, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 17 people were injured in the strike on Heneyda, and that the death toll could rise further because several of the wounded were in serious conditions. The Britain-based group said the strike was […]

20 killed in Myanmar wedding boat crash

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — At least 20 people were killed when a boat carrying scores of wedding guests collided with a river barge at night in western Myanmar, authorities said Saturday, with more feared drowned as rescue workers renewed their search in daylight. Most of the dead were women, according to officials, who said the boat sank Friday evening on a river in Pathein, a port city west of the commercial capital Yangon. “Altogether 16 […]

Watch: Damascus residents denounce US strikes on Syria as “int’l terrorism” on sovereign state

  Damascus residents criticize an American air strike on a Syrian airbase that marked the first direct US assault on President Bashar al-Assad’s government, saying it amounts to “international terrorism against a sovereign state.” Najeed Haj Bakri, university student said, “The US will intervene, whether it’s in the Shayrat airfield or any other airfield, every time the Syrian army advances and captures new areas. The Israelis and Turks did the same thing.” Esam Remeh, a […]

Trump’s far-right backers rebel over ‘hoax’ Syria attack

  by Paul Handley Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Far-right backers of US President Donald Trump rebelled Friday after he ordered a missile strike to punish Syria for a suspected chemical weapons attack that killed 86 people. Bandying the hashtag #Syriahoax, leaders of the “Alt-Right” white nationalist fringe lashed out at the president for abandoning his election campaign stances. Some denied the suspected chemical attack took place. Others rejected the broadly accepted […]

Syria army says six dead in US strike

  DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) – Six people were killed and serious damage caused by a US missile strike on a Syrian air base in the center of the country early Friday, Syria’s army said. “At 3:42 am (0042 GMT) the United States carried out a flagrant aggression with missiles against one of our airbases in the central region, killing six people and wounding a number of others, and causing significant damage,” a spokesman said, reading […]

US strikes in Syria inflict ‘considerable damage’ to US-Russia ties: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The United States strikes ordered by President Donald Trump against a Syrian air base Friday inflict further “considerable damage” to US-Russia relations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies. “This step by Washington inflicts considerable damage to US-Russia relations, which are already in a lamentable state,” Peskov said.