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| December 16, 2013 |
 US warship threatened China's security: state media Beijing (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - A US warship that was forced to manoeuvre to avoid a collision with a Chinese naval vessel had "posed a threat", state-run media said Monday, after Washington accused China of being the aggressor. The Global Times newspaper, which often takes a nationalistic stance, said the USS Cowpens guided missile cruiser had "come to China's threshold and posed a threat to China's military security". ... more |  |
Ex-Chinese security chief probed: report Beijing (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - China's Communist chief Xi Jinping has given the go-ahead for a corruption investigation into the former head of the country's internal security apparatus, the New York Times reported Monday. Citing what it described as "sources with elite political ties", the paper said the decision to open the inquiry into Zhou Yongkang was made early this month. Zhou is a former member of the elite Po ... more |  |
 US urges united response to 'ominous' N. Korea execution Seoul (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - Washington called for a united front against North Korea after the "ominous" execution of leader Kim Jong-Un's uncle as South Korea put its forces on alert for any "provocations" from its nuclear-armed neighbour. The warning came as thousands of North Korean troops marched in Pyongyang to pledge their loyalty to the young leader ahead of commemorations Tuesday to mark the second anniversary ... more |  |
 Militants occupy city council as Iraq attacks kill 24 Tikrit, Iraq (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - Militants detonated a car bomb at the Tikrit city council headquarters on Monday and occupied the building with employees inside, as violence across Iraq left 24 people dead, officials said. The city council assault, which came hours after another by suicide bombers on a police station, illustrates the impunity with which militants in Iraq can strike even targets that should be highly secure ... more |  |
Taiwan, China in talks over spy swap: report Taipei (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - Taiwan and China have conducted rare talks on exchanging intelligence agents jailed on each side, in a further sign of warming ties between the former rivals, local media reported Monday. Representatives from China asked Taiwan to release former army general Lo Hsien-che, the highest-ranking Taiwanese official to be convicted of spying for China in Taiwan, the Taipei-based China Times said. ... more |  |
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Japan tells China to accept world's air zone concerns Tokyo (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - Japan called on China Monday to see "reality" and "accept" there are widespread international concerns over Beijing's controversial air defence zone. The comment by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's right-hand man came after China singled out Japan for criticism when 11 Asian countries stressed the importance of freedom of overflight at a summit in Tokyo, in a move seen as targeting Beijing. " ... more |  |
 Clash in China's Xinjiang kills 16 Beijing (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - Sixteen people were killed in a clash in China's restive Xinjiang region, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority, reports and activists said Monday, less than two months after a fiery attack in Tiananmen Square. Police attempting to detain criminal suspects in Shufu county near the Silk Road city of Kashgar, deep in far western China, were attacked by several "thugs" armed with explosive ... more |  |
Last Australian combat troops leave Afghanistan Sydney (AFP) Dec 16, 2013 - Australian combat troops have completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Monday, marking the end of the nation's longest war which left 40 of its soldiers dead. Abbott announced that more than 1,000 troops would pull out from the restive southern province of Uruzgan before the end of the year during a surprise visit to their base at Tarin Kot in October. ... more |  |
N.Korea execution 'ominous sign' of instability: Kerry Washington (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - The execution of the North Korean leader's uncle is "an ominous sign" raising concerns about instability in a nation pursuing a nuclear arms drive, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Sunday. Pyongyang on Thursday executed the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un charging him with corruption and plotting to overthrow the state. Kerry said the shock punishment of Jang Song-Thaek s ... more |  |
TV presenter among 19 killed in Iraq attacks Mosul, Iraq (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - Gunmen murdered a female TV presenter in northern Iraq on Sunday, making her the sixth journalist killed in less than three months, while other attacks left 18 dead, officials said. Nawras al-Nuaimi was shot near her home in Mosul, Al-Mosuliyah TV said, and was the fifth journalist killed in the city since October. Mostly Sunni Arab Mosul is one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, with ... more |  |
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Iran says nuclear talks continue despite US blacklist Tehran (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - Tehran said Sunday it will keep talking with world powers on its disputed nuclear programme despite a US move to blacklist Iranian companies for evading sanctions. "We are pursuing the negotiations seriously and of course we will give a well-considered, purposeful, smart and proper reaction to any inappropriate and unconstructive move," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his Face ... more |  |
Merkel names mother of seven first female defence chief Berlin (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's first female defence minister, is a worldly and ambitious trained physician and mother of seven seen as a budding possible successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel. With political star power and appeal especially for women voters, she has been a campaign asset for Merkel, but also a potential rival who has shown she is not scared to challenge the powerful leader. ... more |  |
 Gaza power plant stirs to life as violent storm passes Gaza City, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - Gaza's lone power station rumbled to life Sunday for the first time in more than seven weeks after receiving a long-awaited delivery of diesel, the electricity company said. The Hamas-ruled enclave has struggled with massive flooding caused by winter downpours that began Wednesday, when a huge storm struck the Middle East, pummelling Israel and the Palestinian territories. "The power sta ... more |  |
 EIAST Releases first images of DubaiSat-2 Dubai UAE (SPX) Dec 12, 2013 - The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) has announced that the recently launched DubaiSat-2 earth observation satellite has successfully been deployed in orbit and all systems have been tested and verified. The first communication with DubaiSat-2 was established just over an hour after separation from the Dnepr rocket and the mission critical telescope was oper ... more |  |
 Galileo achieves its first airborne tracking Paris (ESA) Dec 13, 2013 - ESA's Galileo satellites have achieved their very first aerial fix of longitude, latitude and altitude, enabling the inflight tracking of a test aircraft. ESA's four Galileo satellites in orbit have supported months of positioning tests on the ground across Europe since the very first fix back in March. Now the first aerial tracking using Galileo has taken place, marking the first time eve ... more |  |
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 Johns Hopkins APL Will Launch RAVAN Cubesat to Help Solve an Earth Science Mystery Laurel MD (SPX) Dec 13, 2013 - A new, low-cost cubesat mission led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. will demonstrate technology needed to measure the absolute imbalance in the Earth's radiation budget for the first time, giving scientists valuable information to study our climate. The Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes (RAVAN) satellite, scheduled for launch in 2015, w ... more |  |
Kerry 'encouraged' by progress in Mideast peace talks Washington (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Sunday concrete progress has been made in peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, but said details will be kept under wraps. Kerry, who has made nine trips to the Middle East since March and helped launch nine-month direct talks between the two sides in July, said talking about any agreements could be counterproductive. "I'm personally enc ... more |  |
Lebanese soldier, 4 attackers killed in assaults on army Beirut (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - A Lebanese soldier and four attackers were killed in two separate assaults late Sunday on army checkpoints in the southern city of Sidon, the military said in a statement. "At 9:15 p.m. (1915 GMT) today (Sunday) an armed man approached an army checkpoint in the north of Sidon, and launched a hand grenade towards it, injuring two soldiers," the army statement said. "Troops manning the che ... more |  |
Kerry eases deadline for signing Afghan troops deal Washington (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday appeared to give Afghan President Hamid Karzai extra time to sign a bilateral security deal, saying the pact did not have to be concluded by January. And while he said it must be signed as soon as possible, he raised the option for the first time that the deal governing the presence of US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 could even by inked by Karz ... more |  |
First UN aid flight from Iraq lands in Syria Baghdad (AFP) Dec 15, 2013 - The first UN aid flight from Iraq landed in northeastern Syria on Sunday with badly needed supplies, after a winter storm delayed it for several days, the United Nations said. UN aid agencies have "started airlifting urgently needed humanitarian aid from Arbil, Iraq, to Qamishli in northeast Syria as displaced families start to face one of the harshest winters ever," a UN statement said. ... more |  |
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