China’s Xi to visit Vietnam; repairing ties after rig row
HANOI (Reuters) – Although Chinese President Xi Jinping won’t get a gilded carriage or a beer in the prime minister’s local pub on his Vietnam visit, a warm welcome awaits as both sides seek to repair ties after a fierce row last year.
Plane crashes on takeoff from South Sudan airport: reports, witnesses
JUBA (Reuters) – A plane crashed on Wednesday shortly after taking off from an airport in South Sudan, killing 10 people on board, a police officer and local media reported. Two survived, they said.
Turkey arrests nine alleged Islamic State members preparing attack
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Nine alleged members of Islamic State believed to have been preparing a suicide bomb attack on a political party’s offices in Istanbul have been remanded in custody by a court in southeast Turkey, the local governor’s office said.
China to push cultural ‘blending’ in Xinjiang stability push
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will push the study of Mandarin and the “blending” of different races as part of a new stability push in the troubled far western region of Xinjiang, the region’s top Communist Party official said in remarks published on Wedne…
Car bomb targeting police kills six people in Egypt
ISMAILIA (Reuters) – A car bomb targeting a policeman’s club in the Egyptian city of El Arish killed six people and wounded 10 on Wednesday, security sources said.
Defense Secretary Carter to cruise on U.S. warship near disputed sea
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and his Malaysian counterpart will cruise on the USS Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday, a U.S. defense official said, for a voyage likely to highlight tension over rival claims in the South Chi…
Nearly 700 flights canceled as Bali airport closed over volcanic eruption
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia has closed Bali airport, one of its busiest international terminals, cancelling hundreds of flights, because of ash spewed by a volcano on a nearby island, authorities said on Wednesday.
Thailand investigates military officers in widening royal insult probe
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai police on Wednesday said they were turning their attention to senior military officers as part of a major investigation into a network of people charged with insulting the monarchy.
Suu Kyi looks set to win Myanmar election, but problems loom
MYAUNGMYA, Myanmar (Reuters) – When Aung San Suu Kyi’s candidate emerges at a campaign rally in southern Myanmar, the crowd bursts into cheers and showers him with flowers, confident that the opposition will prevail this weekend after decades of strugg…
China lobbying to drop South China Sea from defense forum statement: U.S.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – China is lobbying Southeast Asian nations to drop any reference to concerns over the South China Sea in a statement to be issued after regional defense talks in Malaysia, a diplomatic push that reflects growing tension over Chi…
