Beijing / AFP The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Wednesday he had “no worries” about US President-elect Donald Trump and looked forward to meeting him—a prospect which would anger Beijing. The Nobel laureate called the US “a leading nation of free world” at a press conference on a visit to Mongolia, where he met with Buddhist ...

  Seoul / AFP Japan and South Korea on Wednesday signed an agreement to share defence intelligence about North Korea, despite protests from opposition parties and activists in Seoul and strong criticism from China. South Korea’s defence ministry said the accord was necessary in the face of growing military threats from Pyongyang, which has conducted two nuclear tests and more than ...

  Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday against the power of fake news on social media to spur the rise of populists, after launching her campaign for a fourth term. Speaking in parliament for the first time since her announcement Sunday that she would seek re-election next year, Merkel cautioned that public opinion was being “manipulated” on ...

  Manila / AFP Philippine fishermen on Wednesday criticised President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to ban them from a rich South China Sea fishing ground, part of his efforts to ease tensions over disputed waters controlled by China. Duterte’s aides said he had made a “unilateral” declaration to make the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal a protected marine sanctuary, after raising the issue ...

  Harare / AFP A Zimbabwe court on Wednesday indefinitely postponed the trial of five war veteran leaders charged with insulting longtime President Robert Mugabe, citing bungling by the prosecution. The five were facing charges for authoring a highly-critical statement accusing Mugabe of “dictatorial” behaviour, and were arrested earlier this year in a crackdown on critics of the 92-year-old leader. ...

  MOSUL / AP An airstrike by the US-led coalition on Wednesday “disabled” the fourth bridge on the Tigris River in Mosul, leaving the northern Iraqi city with a single functioning bridge and further disrupting the Islamic State group’s supply lines amid the government offensive against IS militants. The extremist group’s media arm, the Aamaq news agency, and a top ...

  Muzaffarabad / AFP At least nine people were killed and seven others wounded in cross-border fire which hit a Pakistani bus in disputed Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said, in the latest deadly skirmish between India and Pakistan. The incident came a day after India said three of its soldiers had been killed by Pakistani troops and threatened “retribution”, a claim ...

  Istanbul / AFP Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that a European Parliament vote set to back a freeze of membership talks with Ankara over its relentless post-coup crackdown would have “no value”. The non-binding vote set for this week threatens to escalate tensions between the European Union and Turkey, which reached new heights in the wake of ...

  Phnom Penh / AFP Cambodia’s UN-backed court upheld life sentences for two top former Khmer Rouge leaders on Wednesday for crimes against humanity, delivering a blow to their hopes of release as they face a second trial for genocide. “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, 90, and ex-head of state Khieu Samphan, 85, were the first top leaders to be ...

  Yangon / AFP Scores of Rohingya Muslims have been killed in a Myanmar army crackdown since early October, when sword-wielding assailants raided police posts in the remote marshlands bordering Bangladesh. The military struck back with ground clearances, most recently backed by helicopter gunships. Access to the conflict areas is heavily restricted, but witness testimony has seeped out alleging mass rapes, ...