Beirut / AFP Beijing came under pressure at an Asian summit on Wednesday over its “illegal” island-building in the South China Sea, after the Philippines produced photos it said showed fresh construction activity at a flashpoint shoal. Any artificial island at Scarborough Shoal could be a game-changer in China’s quest to control the South China Sea and raises the risk …

  Strasbourg / AFP Turkey’s foreign minister on Wednesday pledged cooperation with the top European rights watchdog to ensure the effort to bring the leaders of July’s failed coup to justice is clear and straightforward. “We (will) cooperate with the Council of Europe to make this process very transparent,” said Mevlut Cavusoglu, after meeting in Strasbourg with the group’s head …

  Tbilisi / AFP NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said ex-Soviet Georgia has moved closer to membership, in a show of support for the tiny Caucasus nation despite fierce opposition from Russia. “You are continuing to strengthen your democracy and civic institutions and this has helped Georgia to move closer to NATO,” Stoltenberg told a news conference after …