Putin says Russia interested in closer security ties with Vietnam: RIA
Russia wants closer military and security ties with Vietnam, President Vladimir Putin told the general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, during a meeting in Russia’s Black Sea port of Sochi, the RIA news agency reported.
Merkel accuses far-right party of stoking ethnic tension
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of using violent protests over a fatal stabbing blamed on migrants to stir up ethnic tension.
Main Iraqi port closed as one dies, 25 injured in Basra protests
Iraq’s main seaport closed down on Thursday following clashes between protestors and security forces in the nearby southern city of Basra in which one demonstrator died and 25 were injured the previous night.
Five migrants found dead in Spanish waters
Five migrants drowned and 193 were rescued in the western Mediterranean sea off the Spanish coast, the Spanish coastguard said on Thursday, after six rafts sank.
Flooding kills dozens in North Korea, thousands left homeless: Red Cross
Severe flooding in North Korea has killed at least 76 people with nearly the same number missing and thousands left homeless by the destruction, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Thursday.
India throws out ban on gay sex, but challenges remain
India’s top court scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex on Thursday, in a landmark judgment that sparked celebrations across India and elsewhere in South Asia, where activists hope to push for similar reform.
Russians named in spy poisoning traveled widely in Europe: report
People using the same passports as two men accused by Britain of the attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter traveled widely in Europe and made a previous trip to Britain, according to an online Russian news outlet.
Iraqi officials lift planned Basra curfew minutes 3pm local time start
Iraqi officials lifted a planned curfew in Iraq’s southern oil hub Basra minutes before it was due to start at 3 pm local time on Thursday, Basra Operations Command told Reuters.
Kenyan police apologizes over arrest of Chinese journalists
Kenyan police apologized on Thursday for briefly arresting journalists from Chinese state television’s international English channel China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Afghan troops to train in China, ambassador says
China will train Afghan troops on Chinese soil, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Beijing said, describing the military cooperation as an effort to fight al Qaeda and Islamic State militants bent on attacking China from its western neighbor.
