Afghans try to identify group behind attack on clerics, toll climbs to 55
Afghan authorities were struggling on Wednesday to identify the group behind a suicide bomb attack that killed at least 55 people at a gathering of religious scholars in Kabul after the Taliban denied any responsibility.
Trump and land fears boost South Africa’s white right ‘state’
When U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to investigate large scale killings of white farmers in South Africa and violent takeovers of land, Pretoria said he was misinformed. Elsewhere, there was quiet satisfaction.
South Korea risks ties by disbanding ‘comfort women’ fund: Japan PM
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday warned South Korea it risked damaging ties by disbanding a fund meant to settle compensation for South Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War Two.
In Papua New Guinea shanty-towns, residents question APEC legacy
Barely a five-minute drive from the $50 million conference venue for the just-concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Papua New Guinea’s capital, a makeshift squatter settlement is tucked away from visiting world leaders.
Kenyan police say gunmen kidnap Italian volunteer, wound five in attack on coast
Kenya said on Wednesday gunmen kidnapped an Italian volunteer in the coastal region of Kilifi during an attack in which five people were wounded, the first time a foreigner has been abducted in the East African country in several years.
Police harassment of Chinese reporter sparks anger and apology
A Chinese environmental journalist’s account of police harassment while reporting on a chemical spill has sparked widespread condemnation online and an apology from the police.
Australia rejects U.N. migration pact, sticks with hardline asylum-seeker policy
Australia will not sign up to a United Nations migration agreement because it would compromise its hardline immigration policy and endanger national security, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.
Japan’s Abe says South Korea risks ties by shutting down ‘comfort women’ fund
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday South Korea risked damaging ties by shutting down a fund meant to settle compensation for South Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War Two.
South Korean decision to dissolve comfort women fund ‘unacceptable’: Japan minister
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said on Wednesday that South Korea’s decision to dissolve a “comfort women” foundation funded by Japan to compensate women forced to work in wartime brothels was “unacceptable.”
China arrests 576 waste smuggling suspects from January-October: Xinhua
China arrested 576 people accused of smuggling waste into the country in the first 10 months of the year, state news agency Xinhua said, part of its efforts to enforce a ban on low-grade trash imports.
