Kyrgyz police kill one escaped Islamist, three remain at large: ministry
BISHKEK (Reuters) – Police in Kyrgyzstan have killed one of four Islamists who escaped from prison earlier this week, but the others remain at large, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.
No laughing matter: Myanmar denounced for Facebook post arrests
YANGON (Reuters) – Rights groups on Friday condemned this week’s arrests of two activists in Myanmar who had mocked the army, warning that an escalating crackdown against free speech ahead of elections could derail hopes for the country’s democratic tr…
Weekend crisis looms for leader of Taiwan’s floundering ruling party
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s panicked ruling Nationalists party will likely ditch its candidate for January’s presidential election this weekend in a desperate move to avoid a trouncing by an opposition it fears could derail warming ties with China.
China proposes joint drills in South China Sea with ASEAN
BEIJING (Reuters) – China proposes holding joint maritime accidental encounter and search and rescue drills in the South China Sea with members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) next year, China’s defense minister told ASEAN defense …
China to prosecute two former top officials for graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – Two former senior Chinese officials will be prosecuted for suspected corruption, the ruling Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog said on Friday.
Turkey’s Erdogan and Obama discuss cooperation on Syria
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed on the phone strengthening cooperation against Islamic State militants and what could be done about Russian military activities in Syria, Erdogan’s office s…
Turkmenistan strongly denies ‘incidents’ at Afghan border
ASHGABAT (Reuters) – Turkmenistan has registered no incidents at its border with Afghanistan, the Central Asian state’s government said on Friday, denouncing as untrue a remark by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
China repeats opposition to force in Syria
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign minister has repeated his country’s opposition to the use of force to resolve the crisis in Syria, saying that a political solution is still the only way out, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
Citing ‘very fragile’ security in Afghanistan, Obama slows pace of U.S. troop withdrawal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Reversing policy on Afghanistan, President Barack Obama announced on Thursday he will prolong the 14-year-old U.S. military engagement there, effectively handing off the task of pulling out troops to his successor.
Syrian army and Russian jets target rebel towns north of Homs
BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian troops and their allies, backed by Russian jets, attacked rebel-held towns north of the city of Homs on Thursday, targeting a long-held and strategic enclave of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.
