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(Reuters) — Thailand’s Pattaya Provincial Court on Tuesday (February 7) handed down a death sentence to Australian national Antonio Bagnato for the murder of a former Hells Angels member over a year ago. A 22-year-old U.S. national, Tyler Gerard, was also given a three-year jail sentence for being an accomplice to the crime, but his sentence was later lowered to two years as he cooperated with the investigation and provided useful information, according to […]
(Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a new approach to resolve the territorial dispute with Russia on Tuesday (February 7) as Japan marked Northern Territories Day. The islands, known as the Southern Kuril islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, have been at the root of strained relations between the two countries since the end of World War Two when soldiers from the former Soviet Union seized the islands […]
by Mushtaq MOJADDIDI Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2016 were the highest recorded by the UN, the world body said Monday, with nearly 11,500 non-combatants — one third of them children — killed or wounded. Fighting between Afghan security forces and militants, especially in populated areas, remained “the leading cause of civilian casualties” more than two years after NATO’s combat mission ended, said the United Nations, which began documenting […]
by Layal Abou Rahal Agence France Presse BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The Islamic State group is “completely besieged” in its last major stronghold in Syria’s Aleppo province, a monitor said Monday, as pro-regime forces pressure the jihadists on several fronts. IS fighters were cut off in Al-Bab after forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad’s government severed a road into the northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. “Al-Bab is now completely besieged by […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — As many as 13,000 people were hanged in five years at a notorious Syrian government prison near Damascus, Amnesty International said Tuesday, accusing the regime of a “policy of extermination.” Titled “Human Slaughterhouse: Mass hanging and extermination at Saydnaya prison,” Amnesty’s damning report is based on interviews with 84 witnesses, including guards, detainees, and judges. It found that at least once a week between 2011 and 2015, groups of up to […]
BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China on Monday (February 6) welcomed U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ suggestion that diplomacy should be the priority in the South China Sea, and that major U.S. military action was not being considered to contend with China’s assertive behaviour there. Mattis, speaking in Tokyo on Saturday (February 4), blamed China for “shredding the trust of nations in the region”, but also played down any need for U.S. military manoeuvres in the […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States and Japan have conducted the first interception of a ballistic missile target using a jointly built system, amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s missile program. The two nations have been working together since 2006 to develop a variant of the Standard Missile-3, a ship-launched missile that operates as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Friday’s test off Kauai in Hawaii saw the Standard Missile-3 “Block […]
(Reuters) — Dozens of people in Afghanistan were killed after heavy snow and avalanches hit over the weekend (February 4-5). In the northern province of Badakhshan, as many as 19 people were killed and 17 injured due to avalanches, collapsed roofs and road accidents, said Naweed Frotan, a spokesman for the provincial governor. The government was working to reach at least 12 districts in Badakhshan that had been completely cut off, he said. In […]
by Delil Souleiman Agence France Presse QAMISHLI, Syria (AFP) — Abdo Shehu sits in an office in Kurdish-majority Qamishli in northeast Syria, surrounded by copies of the first Western novel available in the city in his own language. The novel is “Snow” by French writer Maxence Fermine, the first fruits of a new project to translate international works of literature into a language that was effectively banned in Syria until recently. The 29-year-old is working […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said Sunday it would allow US wrestlers to compete in an international tournament after President Donald Trump’s travel ban was halted by a federal court. “Following the court ruling suspending #MuslimBan…US Wrestlers’ visa will be granted,” tweeted Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif. Iran had blocked visas for US citizens in response to Trump’s travel ban, preventing the wrestlers from competing in the event on February 16-17. Meanwhile, a group of […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday that his country will “never initiate a war”, despite facing threats, in reference to a series of US warnings over its testing of missiles. Tehran was “unmoved by threats as we derive security from our people. We’ll never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defense,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said on his official Twitter account. “We will never use our […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — US Defense Secretary James Mattis told his Japanese counterpart on Saturday that their alliance remained a “cornerstone” of regional stability as he wrapped up a visit aimed at reassuring key Asian allies about Washington’s commitment to their security. Japan and the US have a decades-long security alliance while US-South Korea military ties date back to the 1950-53 Korean War. But on the campaign trail, US President Donald Trump accused Seoul and […]
