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Washington / AFP A Russian military jet came within 30 feet of a US destroyer in international waters in the Baltic Sea, US officials say, but Russia on Thursday defended the maneuver as safe. Russian aircraft repeatedly buzzed the USS Donald Cook this week, including an incident on Tuesday in which a Russian Su-24 flew 30 feet (nine meters) above ...

  Khost / AFP The US military has said it will investigate air strikes it carried out this month, which Kabul said had killed 17 “insurgents” but which local officials and witnesses said on Thursday were civilians. The US army regularly conducts air strikes in the name of “counter-terror” operations in the eastern regions that border Pakistan, which are strongholds of ...

  STOCKHOLM / AP Swedish prosecutors say a 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of planning terror crimes abroad. The Swedish Prosecution Authority says the suspect had violated legislation that took effect April 1 that includes incitement, recruitment and training for terrorist offenses. Chief prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvanstrom says Thursday the investigation has just begun and no more information would ...

  BRUSSELS / AP Belgium’s transport minister is under pressure to resign over a secret European Union report exposing past lapses in oversight of security at airports across the nation. The restricted EU document of last year was made public by two opposition parties. It said that oversight of security measures at the nation’s airports was flawed and there were some ...

  New York / AFP Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders face off Thursday in a closely watched US presidential debate ahead of the key New York primary in the increasingly acrimonious Democratic race for the White House. The former secretary of state holds a double-digit lead over the Vermont senator in polls and needs a big win in next Tuesday’s ...

  Kiev / AFP Ukraine’s parliament on Thursday appointed pro-Western speaker Volodymyr Groysman as prime minister in a bid to end months of political gridlock and unlock vital aid to the war torn-state. Lawmakers voted by 257 to 50 to approve the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk —condemned by President Petro Poroshenko for losing the public’s trust—and select Groysman ...

Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition agreed on Thursday on tough measures to spur the integration of migrants and refugees, including sanctions for failing to take part in programmes such as language classes. The deal, hammered out in six hours of late-night talks between Merkel’s conservative Christian Union bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD), also included plans ...

  Beijing / AFP China slammed the US for its human rights record on Thursday, state media said, denouncing it for police brutality and civil rights violations a day after Washington criticised Beijing’s own performance. In a report sourced mainly from US media, China said “the US government refuses to hold up a mirror to look at itself, it has ...

Last week, Arrium, one of the two dominant steel manufacturers in Australia went into voluntary administration with debts of over $AU 3 billion ($US 2.3 billion). With the failing of the company having the potential to affect up to 8,000 jobs nationwide, there have been calls for the federal government to bail out Arrium. The opposition Labor Party wants to ...

  Jonathan Dove SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS China’s foreign policy is evolving, and Africa may be both its proving ground and litmus test. As Beijing is seeking to expand its global role, its national interests, citizens, and assets need to be protected abroad, and nowhere else is this need as acute as it is in Africa. Consequently, China seems to ...