Russia, Belarus fail to agree on financial compensation for Minsk: Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko failed to agree on possible financial compensation for Minsk and will meet again before the end of the year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
Kremlin does not rule out Putin attending Davos forum
The Kremlin does not rule out the participation of President Vladimir Putin in the World Economic Forum in Davos next month, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
China court locked down for trial of prominent rights lawyer
Chinese police locked down a courthouse on Wednesday for the trial of a prominent rights lawyer who is accused of subversion of state power and whose case has attracted widespread concern in Western countries.
Indonesian rescuers struggle against heavy rain to reach tsunami-hit villages
Indonesian rescue teams on Wednesday struggled to reach remote areas on the western coast of Java amid an “extreme weather” rain warning after a tsunami killed more than 400 people last week.
Koreas’ bid to reconnect rail, road links clouded by sanctions issue
The two Koreas on Wednesday launched a project to reconnect rail and road links severed since the 1950-53 Korean War, but actual construction cannot start while sanctions remain in place against North Korea, officials said.
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake hits Sicily, some damage, few injuries
An earthquake measuring magnitude 4.8 hit the area north of Catania on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily early on Wednesday, causing some damage to buildings and a few injuries, officials said.
Leading Chinese Marxist student taken away by police on Mao’s birthday
Chinese police detained a well-known Marxist at a top university on Wednesday, a witness said, on the sensitive anniversary of the 125th birthday of the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong, whose legacy remains deeply contested.
Indonesia issues ‘extreme weather’ warning for tsunami-hit coast near Krakatau
Indonesian authorities warned on Wednesday of “extreme weather and high waves” around the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, urging people to stay away from the coast already devastated by a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.
Blast at chemical plant in China’s Xinjiang kills three: report
A blast at a chemical plant in China’s northwestern Xinjiang autonomous region has killed three people and severely injured six, the official Tianshan news website reported on Wednesday.
China blames unemployed man for bus hijacking in which eight killed: Xinhua
Police have detained an unemployed man who hijacked a bus in southeastern China after a dispute with a neighborhood official that resulted in eight people being killed, state media reported.
