South Korea urges release of its missionary sentenced to life in North Korea
SEOUL (Reuters) – The South Korean government urged North Korea on Sunday to release a South Korean missionary, Kim Jong Uk, who was sentenced to life with hard labor by a North Korean court on Friday.
Vietnam expects Japan coastguard ships next year: vice defense minister
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Vietnam expects to take delivery of coastguard ships from Japan early next year, the country’s vice defense minister said on Sunday, as Hanoi looks to boost its defenses amid a territorial row with China in the South China Sea.
Australian airlines resume flights as ash cloud dissipates
PERTH (Reuters) – Australian airlines forced to cancel flights due to a volcanic ash cloud from Indonesia’s Sangeang Api volcano resumed flying on Sunday as the plume cleared.
Six Egyptian border guards killed: army spokesman
CAIRO (Reuters) – Six Egyptian soldiers from the border guard were killed when they were targeted by smugglers and “outlaws” during a patrol in a western part of the country, an army spokesman said on Saturday.
Exclusive: Shift by hard-line Taliban factions may have sealed prisoner exchange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The breakthrough leading to Saturday’s surprise exchange of a U.S. prisoner of war for five Guantanamo detainees suddenly became possible after harder-line factions of the Afghan Taliban apparently shifted course and agreed to ba…
U.S. and China square off at Asia security forum
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The United States and China squared off at an Asian security forum on Saturday, with the U.S. defense secretary accusing Beijing of destabilizing the region and a top Chinese general retorting that his comments were “threat and in…
Eyeing Pakistan and China, India’s Modi bolsters security team
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen a daring former spy with years of experience in dealing with Pakistan as his national security adviser, a move officials say signals a more muscular approach to New Delhi’s tradi…
How a private commemoration of the Tiananmen protests riled Chinese police
BEIJING (Reuters) – Early last month, 15 people went to a Beijing apartment to mark the 25th anniversary of the crushing of pro-democracy protests around Tiananmen Square. Among them were scholars, a prominent Chinese human rights lawyer, writers and t…
Exclusive: Syria bomber was Florida-born, raised in middle-class family
SEBASTIAN Fla. (Reuters) – The man believed to be the first American suicide bomber in Syria was born in Florida and loved to play basketball. He was an average student who grew up in a well-kept middle-class neighborhood about 90 minutes south of Orla…
U.S. and China square off at Asia security forum
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The United States and China squared off at an Asian security forum on Saturday, with the U.S. defense secretary accusing Beijing of destabilizing the region and a top Chinese general retorting that his comments were “threat and in…
