In a Tokyo neighborhood’s last sushi restaurant, a sense of loss
(This December 21 story was refiled to remove extraneous indefinite article in paragraph 28)
Japan accuses South Korea of ‘extremely dangerous’ radar lock on plane
Japanese Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya “strongly protested” to South Korea on Friday after a South Korean destroyer allegedly locked its targeting radar on a Japanese surveillance plane.
Belgian PM to stay on heading caretaker government
Belgian King Philippe accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Charles Michel on Friday and requested his government stay on in a caretaker capacity for the coming months after his coalition split following an argument over migration.
Kurdish-led forces in Syria may not be able to contain IS prisoners: official
Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria may not be able to continue hold Islamic State prisoners if the situation in the region gets out of control, top Syrian Kurdish official Ilham Ahmed said on Friday.
‘Neither war nor peace’: Doctors targeted in Syria’s lawless rebel region
Doctor Khalil Agha was working at a hospital in northwest Syria when masked gunmen knocked at his door, waved a piece of paper saying he was wanted by a powerful Islamist group, and bundled him into their car, bound and blindfold.
Catalan separatists seethe at Spanish cabinet visit
Catalan separatists blocked roads and rallied in their thousands on Friday as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez brought a cabinet meeting to regional capital Barcelona in both a show of central power and attempt at negotiation.
Congo’s Gomair says cargo plane crashed, no word yet on casualties
The Congolese aviation firm whose cargo plane went missing on Thursday after delivering materials for an upcoming presidential election said it had confirmed that the plane had crashed.
Worst Czech coal mine blast in decades kills 12 Poles, one Czech
A methane explosion killed 12 Poles and one Czech at an eastern Czech coal mine, the OKD mining company said on Friday, in the worst disaster of this kind in almost three decades.
Dutch worried by U.S. plans to pull forces from Syria, Afghanistan
The Netherlands, joining other U.S. allies, voiced disquiet on Friday at the U.S. decision to withdraw forces from Syria and said Washington’s plan to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan was premature.
Prayers, tributes in Lockerbie mark 30 years since Pan Am bombing
A simple wreath-laying and prayer service in Lockerbie on Friday marked 30 years since a jumbo jet was blown up over the small Scottish town, killing 270 people.
