Asia

Putin says ambassador murder is ploy to wreck Syrian peace process

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) — Russian President Vladimir Putin held a special meeting in the Kremlin to discuss the murder of Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov on Monday (December 19). “The committed crime is obviously a provocation designed to spoil normalisation of Russia-Turkey relations and derailing peace process in Syria which is actively promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries interested in reconcilement of inter-Syria conflict,” Putin said. Putin also said he had a […]

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Turkey policeman assassinates Russia envoy in Ankara

by Adem Altan with Stuart WILLIAMS in Istanbul Agence France Presse ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — A Turkish policeman crying “Aleppo” and “Allahu Akbar” shot dead Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in Ankara on Monday, prompting a vow from President Vladimir Putin to step up the fight against “terrorism.” Andrei Karlov died of his wounds after the shooting in an Ankara exhibition center, which came on the eve of a key meeting in Moscow between the Russian, […]

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China says discussing return of undersea drone with U.S. military

BEIJING, China (Reuters) — The Chinese and U.S. militaries are having “unimpeded” talks about the return of U.S. underwater drone taken by a Chinese naval vessel in the South China Sea last week, China’s foreign ministry said on Monday (December 19). The drone, known as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), was taken on Thursday (December 15) in waters off the coast of the Philippines, the first seizure of its kind in recent memory. U.S. President-elect […]

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US military resumes Osprey flights in Japan after crash

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The US Marines on Monday resumed flights of their controversial Osprey aircraft in Japan, less than a week after a crash off the southern island of Okinawa sparked local protests. Last Tuesday an MV-22 Osprey made what Marines called a “controlled landing” just off the Okinawan coast during a night training flight that left the aircraft in pieces. No one was killed but the accident sparked anger on the island — […]

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China chokes under heavy smog with worse ahead

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Hospital visits spiked, roads were closed and flights cancelled Monday as China choked under a vast cloud of toxic smog, with forecasters warning the worse was yet to come. At least 23 cities in the world’s most populous country have issued red alerts for air pollution since Friday, according to the official Xinhua news agency. A host of emergency measures have been implemented to protect the public’s health from the smog, […]

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Trump tweets on China ‘more dangerous than funny’: media

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese state media said Monday US President-elect Donald Trump’s diplomatic inexperience could spark a confrontation between the two nations, while one newspaper termed him unfit to lead a superpower. They were commenting on Trump’s response to Beijing’s seizure of a US maritime probe in international waters, a move which raised already heightened tensions between the world’s two largest military powers. A Chinese naval vessel “unlawfully” grabbed the unmanned underwater vehicle in […]

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Impeachment flags off early race for S. Korea presidency

by Hwang Sunghee Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has set off an early scramble among her potential successors, even before the final decision has been made to remove her from office. While some have openly announced their intention to run, others have been more circumspect — resulting in a “phony campaign” where the declared and undeclared protagonists skirmish without really joining battle. On paper, […]

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IS claims suicide attack in Yemen’s Aden city

ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) — The Islamic State (IS) group on Sunday claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that struck a gathering of pro-government forces in Yemen’s temporary capital of Aden that left at least 49 soldiers dead. An online statement made by IS on twitter claimed that “more than 70 apostates were killed in the jihadist attack.” The suicide bomber who carried out the terrorist operation was identified as Abu Hashim Radfani, according to an […]

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7.9-magnitude quake hits PNG, tsunami threat over

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A major 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, but no immediate casualties were reported and an initial tsunami threat was later deemed to have passed. The earthquake struck 60 km to the east of Taron, New Ireland, at 8.51 pm local time (1051 GMT) at a depth of some 75 km, the USGS said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre initially warned hazardous […]

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China to return seized US naval probe

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Saturday it would return a US naval probe seized in international waters, as it slammed the “hyping” of the incident as “inappropriate and unhelpful”. The unmanned underwater vehicle was taken around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines late on Thursday, according to the Pentagon, which called the capture unlawful and demanded its immediate return. The incident comes amid escalating tensions between China and the […]

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China seizes US naval probe in S. China Sea: Pentagon

  by Thomas Watkins Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – China “unlawfully” seized an unmanned US naval probe in international waters in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday, a move sure to heighten tensions around Beijing’s military presence in the disputed area. The underwater probe was taken around 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) northwest off Subic Bay in the Philippines on Thursday afternoon in a non-violent incident, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff […]

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50,000 people still trapped in eastern Aleppo: UN envoy

PARIS, France (AFP) — Around 50,000 people, the majority civilians, were still trapped in eastern Aleppo even as an evacuation deal was under way, the UN peace envoy for Syria and French foreign minister said on Thursday. “There are 50,000 people, including 40,000 civilians unfortunate enough to live in that part of the city. The rest are fighters, numbering between 1,500 and 5,000, and their families,” the UN’s Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Paris, […]

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