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.
EU offers Turkey cash, closer ties for migration help
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union offered Turkey a possible 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in aid and the prospect of easier travel visas and “re-energised” talks on joining the bloc in return for its help stemming the flow of migrants to Europe….
U.N. Security Council to meet on Israeli-Palestinian violence
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council will hold a special meeting on Friday to discuss the recent spate of violence between Israel and the Palestinians in which 39 people have been killed over the past two weeks.
Don’t run down Italy’s refugee effort, angry Renzi tells EU boss
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi made an unusual personal attack on a top EU official on Friday, accusing European Council President Donald Tusk of slighting the Italian people in remarks about refugees.
