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by Nazeer al-Khatib with Rana Moussaoui in Beirut Agence France Presse AL BAB, Syria (AFP) — An Islamic State group suicide bomber killed 51 people outside Syria’s Al-Bab on Friday, in a major blow just hours after rebels seized the town from the jihadists. In a statement distributed online, the group said its suicide bomber “drove his car bomb into the middle of a gathering of Turkish soldiers and apostates working in Susian”. At least […]
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) –South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been impeached by parliament over her role in an influence-peddling scandal linked to her friend Choi Soon-sil, and now awaits a Constitutional Court review of that decision. The court has said it will conclude oral arguments on Monday (February 27). It has not said when a verdict will be delivered but, according to past practice, a decision could be reached after about two weeks. If […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea denounced its chief ally and diplomatic protector China for “dancing to the tune of the (United States)” after it banned coal imports in apparent punishment for a missile launch. Beijing and Pyongyang have a relationship forged in the blood of the Korean War, but ties have begun to fray in recent years, with China increasingly exasperated by its wayward neighbor’s nuclear antics. Last week it announced the suspension […]
LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) — A bomb blast in an upscale shopping center in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore killed at least eight people and wounded 20 on Thursday (February 23), officials said, the latest in a surge of violence that has shaken the country. Security forces cordoned off the residential neighborhood, also home to banks and coffee shops, rescue officials said, after what one bank worker said was a “frightening” explosion. Punjab police spokesman Nayab […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Recent satellite imagery appears to show China is completing structures intended to house surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) on a series of artificial islands in the South China Sea, a Washington think-tank said Thursday. According to images published by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, the structures are being installed on Fiery Cross Reef, Mischief Reef and Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands. The AMTI, which is part of the Center for […]
LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) — At least five people were killed and 30 injured after a blast ripped through a building in an upscale shopping area of Pakistan’s Lahore Thursday, officials said, the latest in a surge in Islamist violence. “It was a bomb attack,” Nayab Haider, a spokesman for the provincial Punjab police said. Rescue services spokeswoman Deeba Shehnaz provided the casualty toll. Television footage showed a smouldering building and several crumpled cars with their […]
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito turned 57 on Thursday (February 23) saying he is ready to become emperor after his father Akihito, who could abdicate as soon as next year, and that like him, he will be an emperor who “shares the pain and joy of the people”. A government panel is debating how to allow the 83-year-old Akihito, who has had heart surgery and prostate cancer treatment, to step down after […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s state media broke a 10-day silence Thursday on the murder of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother, launching a ferocious assault on Malaysia for “immoral” handling of the case and for playing politics with the corpse. In its first comments on the airport assassination of Kim Jong-Nam, Korean Central News Agency said Malaysia bore responsibility for the death, and accused it of conspiring with South Korea. “Malaysia is obliged to hand his […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Pyongyang’s state media on Thursday blasted Malaysia for an “illegal and immoral” autopsy on a man believed be the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, breaking a 10-day silence on the airport assassination. “Malaysia is obliged to hand his body to the DPRK (North Korea) side as it made an autopsy and forensic examination of it in an illegal and immoral manner”, the North’s Korean Jurists Commitee said, in comments carried […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Two women arrested over the killing of the North Korean leader’s half-brother in Kuala Lumpur knew they were taking part in a poison attack, Malaysia’s police chief said Wednesday, after reports they believed it was a prank. “Yes, of course they knew,” Khalid Abu Bakar said when asked by a reporter if the women knew they were carrying a toxic substance when they approached Kim Jong-Nam, the half-sibling of Kim […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian investigators are seeking to question a North Korean diplomat over the killing of Kim Jong-Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong-Nam, at a Kuala Lumpur airport, national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said Wednesday. Police have put five North Koreans in the frame for the killing and have said they are seeking three more for questioning. Of those wanted for questioning, one is attached to the embassy and one is on the […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang was on Wednesday sentenced to 20 months in prison after a high-profile corruption trial found him guilty of misconduct during his time at the helm of the city. Tsang, 72, held the leadership post of chief executive for seven years from 2005 and is the most senior city official ever to be convicted in a criminal trial. © Agence France-Presse
