International

China’s nuclear envoy arrives in North Korea

  (Reuters) — China’s nuclear envoy arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday (February 2), the North’s KCNA news agency reported, amid a push by the United States and South Korea for tougher sanctions on the North after its fourth nuclear test. China’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei was expected to hold discussions with the North Koreans on the nuclear issue after his arrival, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported from the North Korean capital. […]

Magnitude 5.7 quake strikes Japan’s northeast, no tsunami warning issued

TOKYO, Feb. 2 (PNA/Xinhua) — The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 shook northeastern Japan on Tuesday afternoon, although no tsunami warning was issued. According to the weather agency, on the Japanese seismic scale that peaks at 7, the temblor measured 4 at 2:32 p.m. in some parts of northern Iwate Prefecture. Local authorities confirmed, however, that no injuries or damage, as yet, have been reported. According to […]

Clinton “breathing a big sigh of relief” with slim lead in Iowa contest

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrated as she held a slim lead over rival Bernie Sanders in Iowa’s Democratic presidential nominating contest on Monday (February 1). “Wow, what a night, an unbelievable night!” she exclaimed as she took the stage at a Des Moines rally, alongside her husband, former president Bill Clinton, and daughter Chelsea Clinton. “This has been an incredible honor to campaign across Iowa with so many of you to make the […]

Sanders says Iowa voters have begun “political revolution” after tie with Clinton in caucus

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist U.S. senator from Vermont, fought frontrunner Hillary Clinton to a virtual tie in Monday’s (February 1) Iowa caucus, and telling supporters as the results came in that they have begun a “political revolution”. Sanders congratulated Clinton for a hard fought contest, after Clinton said earlier that she was breathing a “big sigh of relief” after the results. After winning just 0.6 percent of the vote, Maryland […]

O’Malley, Huckabee pull out of presidential race

Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee announced they were suspending their presidential campaigns on Monday (February 1) following dismal results in the Iowa Caucuses. O’Malley, who had trouble gaining any traction in the Democratic race, won just 0.6 percent of the vote. “And so tonight I have to tell you that I am suspending this presidential bid. But I am not ending this fight because the fight you and I […]

Cruz beats Trump in Iowa presidential race

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz beat billionaire Donald Trump in Iowa’s Republican presidential nominating contest on Monday (February 1), dealing a big upset to the national front-runner in the race to be their party’s White House nominee in 2016. Cruz, a conservative lawmaker from Texas, won with 28 percent of the vote compared to 24 percent for businessman Trump, according to MSNBC. Marco Rubio, a U.S. senator from Florida, came in third place with 23 percent, […]

Putin is fanning Syrian civil war, Britain’s Hammond says

Russian President Vladimir Putin is undermining international efforts to end the Syrian civil war by bombing opponents of Islamic State in an attempt to bolster Bashar al-Assad, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Monday (February 1) during a visit to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, about 10 km (six miles) south of the border with Syria. In a clear sign of frustration with the Kremlin, Hammond scolded Putin for paying lip service to […]

Iowa Democrats continue caucusing in Des Moines

Iowa Democrats at a Des Moines school split into groups to be counted for their candidates in the first of the 2016 U.S. presidential nominating contests on Monday (February 1). Supporters caucusing for presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders lined up after the caucus leader told them they had become “part of Iowa and U.S. history”. Clinton, a former secretary of state, had a slight edge over insurgent Bernie Sanders, a self-styled […]

Trump makes campaign pitch at Iowa caucus event

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump told Iowa caucus-goers, on Monday (February 1) that he is a “messenger” for those wanting to take the country back as the state’s critical presidential primary got underway. Candidates from both parties toured caucus sites to make their final campaign pitches as Iowans kicked off the first of the 2016 presidential nominating contests. Trump and his wife Melania made an appearance at St. Francis of Assisi school in West Des […]

China says U.S. seeks “hegemony” after South China Sea sailing

REUTERS– China’s foreign ministry in Beijing accused the United States on Monday (February 1) of seeking maritime hegemony in the name of freedom of navigation after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island in the South China Sea. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims. […]

Newly-established theater commands to build joint battle command system

The newly established theater commands of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army undertake the mission of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, safeguard regional stability and world peace, said Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense at a press conference on Monday in Beijing. He told reporters that the five theater commands are: the Eastern Theater Command, the Southern Theater Command, the Western Theater Command, the Northern Theater Command and the Central […]

OAS and CELAC officials meet with Haiti’s Martelly to resolve crisis

REUTERS — Delegates from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (CELAC) met with Haitian officials in Port-au-Prince on Monday (February 01) to seek an end to the political crisis that has engulfed the country since presidential elections were cancelled late last month. The visit follows a decision by the OAS to send a special mission to the Caribbean nation to oversee a transition of power and […]