The women cowered behind a flimsy bedroom door. One of them dialed 911. Another clutched a stubby kitchen knife. Continue reading the main story Since leaving the corps in 2012, Siatta had been unable to switch off the habits of war. He was hypervigilant and struggled to relax. He watched people, sizing them up and scanning for threats. In the varying situations of everyday life, he constantly […]
SEOUL North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Sunday that the isolated nuclear-capable country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). “Research and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing and ICBM rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage,” Kim said during a televised New Year’s Day speech. North Korea tested ballistic missiles at an unprecedented rate during 2016, although […]
Dubai-UAE: 29 December, 2016 As the New Year approaches, it brings with it new expectations, new aspirations and new resolutions. Along with shedding a few kilos, picking up a new skill or travelling to a faraway land, it’s also time to get a handle on your finances. Here are a few questions for your bank as a first step in this direction. Ask all the usual questions, […]
TOKYO Japan has approached China and South Korea about holding a trilateral summit in Tokyo in February aimed at deepening cooperation on such issues as a free trade deal, the environment and counter-terrorism, Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday. Disagreements over North Korea and historical issues have long dogged relations between the three Asian powers, though they have held several such trilateral meetings since 2008, most recently […]
By Ben Blanchard and Benjamin Kang Lim | BEIJING BEIJING China’s military has become alarmed by what it sees as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s support of Taiwan and is considering strong measures to prevent the island from moving toward independence, sources with ties to senior military officers said. Three sources said one possibility being considered was conducting war games near the self-ruled island that China considers as […]
DUBAI Iran has warned off foreign surveillance planes that have tried to approach its forces during air defence exercises on the Gulf coast, an Iranian military spokesman said on Wednesday. “In the past three days, more than 12 warnings have been issued to aircraft from outside the region to refrain from approaching the airspace of the manoeuvre area,” said Brigadier-General Abbas Farajpour Alamdari, quoted by the official […]
MOSCOW Russia said on Tuesday that a U.S. decision to ease some restrictions on arming Syrian rebels had opened the way for deliveries of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, a move it said would directly threaten Russian forces in Syria. Moscow last year launched a campaign of air strikes in Syria to help President Bashar al-Assad and government forces in a conflict with rebels, some of whom are supported […]
By Melissa Fares and Andrew Osborn | WEST PALM BEACH, Fla./MOSCOW WEST PALM BEACH, Fla./MOSCOW U.S. President-elect Donald Trump upped the stakes on Friday in a back-and-forth exchange with President Vladimir Putin over nuclear weapons that tested the Republican’s promises to improve relations with Russia. Offering a glimpse of how he might conduct diplomacy after taking office on Jan. 20, Trump reportedly welcomed a nuclear arms race […]
BEIJING China told its companies on Friday they need to pay attention to the latest U.N. sanctions on North Korea, especially those related to coal, to avoid any unnecessary economic losses. The U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea last month aimed at cutting its annual export revenue by a quarter, after Pyongyang carried out its fifth and largest nuclear test so far in September. […]
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump on Thursday called for the strengthening of their countries’ nuclear capabilities. Speaking at a meeting of defence chiefs in Moscow, Mr Putin said Russia needed to “strengthen the strategic nuclear forces, for that we should develop missiles capable of penetrating any current and prospective missile defence systems”, according to the Tass news agency. Mr Putin claimed Russia’s military was able to repel […]
UNITED NATIONS: A UN board of inquiry says it received reports that an attack on an aid convoy on the outskirts of Aleppo in September was “highly likely” to have been carried out by the Syrian air force but it was unable to reach a definitive conclusion.A summary of the board’s report released late Wednesday by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said its members “did not have evidence […]
But by the time Mr. Trump is sworn in next month, such safe zones may be irrelevant, if the evacuation of Aleppo and political negotiations proceed. Continue reading the main story More than a year after launching the air campaign that remade the battlefield in Mr. Assad’s favor, Russia appears to be looking for a way out of the war. Analysts say that Moscow sees in the […]
SEOUL South Korea sent eight North Koreans and two vessels it had rescued drifting at sea last week back across their maritime border on Monday, and patrol vessels from the North were on hand to receive them, the South’s unification ministry said. All eight of those rescued had said they wanted to return to the North, ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said. Their return came after North Korea […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. Bob Dylan just won the Nobel Prize for Literature, enough said. “Poet laureate of the rock era.” But media critic, too? Patti Smith gained deserved attention for a notable performance of “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” at the Nobel ceremony […]
Following yesterday’s biggest, market-moving geopolitical event, in which a US oceanographic vessel had its underwater drone “stolen” by a Chinese warship “literally right in front of the eyes of the American crew”, we predicted that everyone would be eagerly waiting for Trump to chime in on the topic, and further escalating the diplomatic spat between the two nations which now involves China confiscating US marine drones, the […]
From left, Richard Baraniuk, Tan Nguyen and Ankit Patel. Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University Neuroscience and artificial intelligence experts from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have taken inspiration from the human brain in creating a new “deep learning” method that enables computers to learn about the visual world largely on their own, much as human babies do. In tests, the group’s “deep rendering mixture model” largely […]
By J.R. Wu | TAIPEI TAIPEI Before getting too carried away with Taiwan’s elevated status under a Donald Trump presidency, President Tsai Ing-wen might want to check her bank balance. Trump’s suggestion that the “one China” principle – that Taiwan is a part of China – was up for negotiation has already prompted sabre-rattling from Chinese state media and some in the military establishment. Taipei’s ability to […]
BEIJING China’s military has carried out its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighters in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea, state media said. China’s growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the United States criticising its militarization of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. Ten vessels and ten […]
Iran has told its scientists to start developing a nuclear propulsion system for shipping, in what it says is a response to the extension of US bilateral sanctions against Tehran. The US Senate voted this month to extend the president’s authority to impose financial sanctions on Iran for a further 10 years. The Islamic Republic regards the move as a breach of last year’s nuclear agreement between […]
Tom Brokaw has a theory about covering politics that can be summed up in three letters: U.F.O. The basic idea is this: If something unforeseen can occur, it will. That’s why, when asked what the biggest news story will be one year from today, he gave an honest answer: “I don’t know.” “We don’t know what’s going to happen with Donald Trump,” Brokaw said. “We don’t know […]
FRANKFURT German semiconductor chipmaking machinery company Aixtron (AIXGn.DE) is considering reducing the size of the business with a partial sale, its chief executive said in an interview published on Friday, opening the door for bidders after a deal with a Chinese firm collapsed. “There are two options: First, we could hope that the markets for our products recover and continue investing high sums in new equipment. But […]
China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment said it had dropped its offer for Aixtron, the German chip equipment maker, six days after President Barack Obama blocked the deal on national security grounds. Fujian’s takeover vehicle Grand Chip Investment said its offer had lapsed because it had failed to gain regulatory approval from the US Committee on Foreign Investment. Aixtron’s shares fell more than 4 per cent to €3.73 […]
FRANKFURT China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund has dropped its takeover bid for German chip equipment maker Aixtron after U.S. President Barack Obama blocked the deal. Fujian’s takeover vehicle Grand Chip Investment said on Thursday its offer had lapsed as it had failed to obtain U.S. regulatory approval for the purchase, which had been a condition of the deal. Investors who had already accepted its takeover offer […]
Fresh from touting a deal to save hundreds of jobs at the Carrier plant in Indiana as proof he would hold to his election pledge to protect American workers, it appears to have escaped Donald Trump that his attack on Boeing’s contract to replace Air Force One would endanger the employment of thousands of highly skilled aerospace workers. After claiming this week that the “$4 billion” cost […]
