Bamako / AFP Five Chadian peacekeepers were killed and three others wounded in a shootout during an ambush in northeastern Mali, the United Nations said on Thursday. “Five… peacekeepers were killed and three seriously wounded during an ambush,†which occurred on Wednesday, according to a statement posted on the UN Mali mission’s social media accounts. The attack in Aguelhok ...
Read More »China rejects USA claim of ‘unsafe’ spy plane intercept
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 ...
Read More »A-bomb survivors want Obama to meet, apologize in Hiroshima
TOKYO /Â 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 ...
Read More »Venezuelans protest to press for Maduro’s ouster
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 ...
Read More »Sri Lankan troops search for 100 missing after landslides
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 ...
Read More »The Olympic sinkhole
Brazil can’t seem to catch a break. It’s suffering the worst economic slump in decades; its president may be thrown out of office; it’s contending with the zika virus. Now, to add to these indignities, come the huge subsidies to pay for this summer’s Olympics. The costs exceed $10 billion, with only a fraction to be covered by revenues from ...
Read More »Tough job ahead for Taiwan’s new president
Taiwan is between a rock and a hard place. It needs China for economic reasons, but continues to be apprehensive about Beijing’s “assertive policyâ€. The future path of Taiwan’s independence-leaning president-elect Tsai Ing-wen is fraught with economic challenges as the island’s economy has been contracting year-on-year for three straight quarters. Beijing’s fears that Tsai may not sustain the ‘one ...
Read More »There’s no reason to fear a currency war
Narayana Kocherlakota The U.S. government seems concerned about what will happen if other big nations push down the value of their currencies against the dollar. Actually, it could be good for the global economy. Ahead of this week’s meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven developed nations, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has warned that the U.S.’s counterparts ...
Read More »China defends market economy hopes after EU condemnation
On Monday, China heavily criticized the European Parliament for a resolution passed last week that squarely took aim at Beijing’s bid for market economy status at the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the non-binding resolution last Thursday, EU legislators declared that China still fails to meet the criteria for a market economy as defined by EU law and that there ...
Read More »Taiwan’s transition a strategic chance for US
Taiwan will inaugurate a new president this week who China hates but America should love. On Friday, Taiwan’s newly elected president, Tsai Ing-wen, will come into office amidst a storm of controversy and scandal. She will then begin a long hard slog through a cross-Strait political minefield, alienated from the world and increasingly unpopular at home. That is, if ...
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