China’s military flexes muscles for domestic objective: more funding
BEIJING (Reuters) – With stealth jets entering service, leaked pictures of new high-tech naval artillery and proud reports of maneuvers that “dare to shine the sword,” China’s armed forces are putting on a show of power as they lobby for greater defens…
‘Big data’ predictions spur detentions in China’s Xinjiang: Human Rights Watch
(This February 27 story adds missing “did not” to police response in paragraph 6)
Saudi crown prince says corruption purge supports budget: Washington Post
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince said the kingdom’s anti-corruption crackdown was needed to meet budget targets, comparing the purge to chemotherapy in an interview with the Washington Post published on Wednesday.
China’s Tianjin city issues first 2018 Level 2 pollution alert from March 1
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s smog-prone port city of Tianjin issued its first level 2 “orange” pollution alert this year effective from March 1, the city government said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.
Afghan President Ghani makes offer to Taliban for peace talks
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political group, as part of a proposed political process that could lead to peace talks aimed at ending more than 16 years of war.
Lebanon’s Hariri leaves for Riyadh on first visit since ‘resignation’
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri left for Riyadh late on Tuesday, his media office said, for his first to the Saudi capital since he abruptly resigned there in November.
Thousands of Rohingya flee ‘no man’s land’ after resettlement talks
DHAKA/YANGON (Reuters) – – Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled a strip of land on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh after the two countries met to discuss resettling them, an official and a community leader said.
Papua New Guinea officials say whole villages flattened by deadly quake
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Whole villages were flattened and water sources spoiled by a powerful earthquake that killed at least 20 people, residents said on Wednesday as rescuers struggled to reach the hardest-hit areas in Papua New Guinea’s remote, mountaino…
South Korea presidential adviser says U.S.-South Korea drills to start early April: Yonhap
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States will start in early April a joint military exercise postponed until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, a South Korean presidential security adviser said according to Yonhap news agency.
U.S.-Russian crew returns from space station: NASA TV
(Reuters) – A capsule carrying two U.S. astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut from the International Space Station landed in snowy Kazakhstan on Wednesday after a five-and-a-half month mission, a NASA TV live broadcast showed.
