Politics

  Beijing/ AFP Beijing on Thursday rejected Pentagon accusations that a Chinese aircraft made an “unsafe” intercept of a spy plane in international air space, as tensions rise in the strategically vital South China Sea. Rivalry between China and the United States is mounting in the disputed waterway, an important shipping route thought to be home to vast energy deposits, and ...

  TOKYO / AP A group representing Japanese survivors of US atomic bombings urged President Barack Obama to hear their stories and apologize when he visits Hiroshima. Two leaders of the Tokyo-based nationwide group told a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday that many survivors still want an apology though they have long avoided an outright demand for one out of ...

  Caracas / AFP Venezuelan protesters demanded a referendum on ousting President Nicolas, defying riot police who fired tear gas and a state of emergency that the opposition has blasted as unconstitutional. But Maduro warned that if anti-government acts turned violent “I will not hesitate” to ratchet up the extraordinary measures in force, “to fight for the peace and security ...

  Aranayaka / AFP Sri Lankan troops were digging through tonnes of mud on Thursday to search for more than 100 people reported missing after landslides buried two villages, claiming at least 24 lives. The government vowed to dig “as long as it takes” but hopes were fading of finding survivors in the landslides that hit a mountainous area late ...

  CAIRO/ AP A leading international rights group on Wednesday released a report documenting atrocities by Libya’s IS affiliate — including instances of “crucifixions” and shooting a man to death for “cursing God” — in the coastal city of Sirte, a stronghold of the militants. Human Rights Watch recounts “scenes of horror” that followed the city’s seizure by IS militants ...

  ISTANBULI / AP Turkey’s state-run news agency says Turkish fighter jets have killed 10 Kurdish rebels during bombing runs in the country’s southeast. Citing a military source, the Anadolu Agency said on Wednesday that the Monday air raids targeted the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari, which borders with Iraq. The Turkish military is engaged in renewed conflict with rebels linked ...

  The Hague / AFP War crimes prosecutors on Wednesday called for former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba to be sentenced “to at least 25 years” in prison for a slew of rapes and murders in the Central African Republic over a decade ago. Bemba sat stony-faced at the end of three days of hearings at the International Criminal Court ...

  RAMSTEIN AIR BASE / AP A series of deadly attacks by IS operatives in and around Baghdad may be a sign that the militants are “reverting to their roots” as a terrorist organization, the top US commander for the Middle East said on Wednesday. Army Gen. Joseph Votel, the head of US Central Command, said this does not mean ...

  Jerusalem / AFP Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to agreeing a unity government with the main opposition leader, Israeli media said on Wednesday, in a move that could help revive peace talks with the Palestinians. The head of the rightwing Likud has reportedly been engaged in intense negotiations with Labour Party chief Isaac Herzog in recent weeks in ...

  Geneva/ AFP Millions of refugees worldwide risk living on the street due to a lack of funds for shelters, the United Nations warned on Wednesday, urging the private sector to help amid surging displacement. Launching a global campaign called “Nobody Left Outside”, the UN refugee agency said it still needed half a billion dollars to provide adequate shelter. “Without ...