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| December 31, 2013 |
 US names drone testing sites Washington (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - US aviation regulators on Monday released the names of sites picked to test civilian drones whose slated 2015 debut over American skies has sparked privacy concerns. Testing of the unmanned aircraft is due to start within three months and could continue until February 2017, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. The FAA has said some 7,500 small unmanned aircraft ... more |  |
 China activists push limit with demands to end 'dictatorship' Guangzhou (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Their banners have urged an end to China's "dictatorship", scorned the regime as "rogue" and dared leaders to disclose their assets as a step against graft - all dangerous calls under Communist Party rule. The Southern Street Movement, a loose network of laymen-activists in Guangdong province, is testing China's limits with overtly political demands and ambitions to inspire placard-waving p ... more |  |
 Ships return to dock as Syria chemical deadline missed Nicosia (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Disarmament teams returned Scandinavian escort vessels to port Monday as they accepted an end-of-year deadline for the removal of Syrian chemical weapons could no longer be met, a Norwegian spokesman said. Norwegian frigate HNoMS Helge Ingstad was ordered back to port in the nearby island of Cyprus along with a Danish warship that had been deployed to escort the dangerous cargo to destructio ... more |  |
Lebanon army fires on Syria aircraft for 'first time' Baalbek, Lebanon (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - The Lebanese army used its air defence systems against Syrian helicopters on Monday after they carried out a raid inside Lebanese territory, a military source told AFP. It was the first time the Lebanese army has responded to Syrian attacks on its territory, which have multiplied as the conflict in its eastern neighbour has intensified, the source said. "In accordance with the orders of ... more |  |
Abe 'not welcome' by Chinese people: govt Beijing (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - China on Monday said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was "not welcome" by the Chinese people after he visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine. Abe "has fully exposed his hypocrisy by saying that he pays attention to the development of the relationship with China and is hoping to carry out dialogue with Chinese leaders," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. "In fact, Ab ... more |  |
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 'Satisfied' US audits Singapore institute over spy claims Singapore (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Singapore on Monday said US officials invited to inspect the work of a local research institute allegedly linked to a Chinese telecoms firm which Washington suspects of espionage were "satisfied" with the audit findings. The state-linked Institute of Microelectronics (IME) was first thrust into the spotlight in February when the London-based Financial Times cast doubt on the apparent suicide ... more |  |
Israel court paves way for Palestinian prisoner release Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Israel is set to release 26 Palestinian prisoners in the early hours of Tuesday as part of US-brokered peace talks, after a court rejected a last-minute appeal by victims' families. The prisoners were expected to be freed just after midnight, in the third stage of the release of 104 inmates that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed to let go when the peace talks were renewed i ... more |  |
 UK's Iraq war inquiry 'to report in 2014' London (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - The inquiry into Britain's involvement in the Iraq war could publish its long-awaited conclusions in 2014 after discussions between Tony Blair and George W. Bush are published, news reports said on Monday. A government source told the Independent newspaper that "good progress" had been made in talks between the inquiry body and the government on declassifying many of the records of their con ... more |  |
44 Iraq MPs resign after protest camp cleared Baghdad (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Forty-four Iraqi MPs announced their resignation on Monday after security forces demolished a Sunni anti-government protest site and detained a lawmaker. The announcement was made at a televised news conference at which the MPs also demanded "the withdrawal of the army... and the release of MP Ahmed al-Alwani," a Sunni who was arrested during a deadly raid on Saturday. Clashes broke out ... more |  |
Clashes spread to Iraq's Fallujah after protest camp cleared Ramadi, Iraq (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Iraqi forces battled militants in Fallujah on Monday as clashes spread to a second city after an anti-government protest camp was demolished, a police officer said. Captain Omar Oda said militants burned several military vehicles. Dr Assem al-Hamdani said 10 gunmen were wounded in the unrest in the city, west of Baghdad, which was one of the hubs of the insurgency that followed the US-le ... more |  |
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FAA announces locations for future drone testing sites Moscow (Voice of Russia) Dec 31, 2013 - Drones are coming to America - the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday the six states chosen to develop test sites for unmanned aerial vehicles. Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia were chosen by the FAA as the agency moves towards integrating commercial drones into American skies. The goal is to have drones operated by businesses, farmers and g ... more |  |
Deadly clashes as Iraq forces demolish Sunni protest camp Ramadi, Iraq (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Deadly clashes broke out and mosques called for holy war as Iraqi forces on Monday demolished a year-old protest camp set up by Sunni Arabs on a major highway. The violence, which came just days after a deadly raid on the home of a Sunni lawmaker in the adjacent city of Ramadi, threatens to escalate already-widespread anger among Iraq's minority Sunni Arab community. Another operation at ... more |  |
 Iran arrests tycoon known for sanctions busting over graft Tehran (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Iran on Monday arrested on corruption charges a tycoon who reputedly played a major role in busting sanctions imposed on Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme, media reports said. The news of Babak Zanjani's arrest was announced by prosecutor general Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, who did not provide any other details, the official IRNA news agency reported. But IRNA said the case aga ... more |  |
Walker's World: The bumpy year ahead London (UPI) Dec 30, 2013 - The global economy is confounding the conventional wisdom of the past decade and the coming year will see a remarkable shift. The developed world, written off by so many as tired, divided and with dysfunctional political systems, will grow. The emergent economies, however, from which so much had been expected, are likely to falter. The United States, having added 2 million new jo ... more |  |
 Eight police station 'attackers' shot dead in China's Xinjiang: govt Beijing (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Eight "attackers" armed with knives and explosives were killed Monday during a "terrorist attack" on a police station in China's Xinjiang according to authorities, the latest deadly incident in the largely Muslim region. One of the attackers was held in the clash in Shache county, said the official website of the government of Xinjiang, where mainly Muslim Uighurs are the largest ethnic grou ... more |  |
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Iran hopes to implement nuclear deal within month Tehran (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - A top Iranian nuclear negotiator expressed hope Sunday a deal with world powers could be implemented within a month, but said technical talks on the matter are proceeding slowly, Mehr news agency reported. The deal, signed in November, saw Iran suspend parts of its contested nuclear programme for six months in return for limited sanctions relief while a longer term agreement is hammered out. ... more | |
 Wanted leader of Qaeda-linked group had been held in Iraq Baghdad (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - One of the most wanted leaders of an Al-Qaeda-linked group operating in Iraq and Syria had been held in detention for five years but was released in 2010, an Iraqi official revealed Sunday. Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group, was detained by international forces in Iraq in May 2005, the senior intelligence official told AFP. ... more |  |
Three senior army officers among 16 killed in Iraq Baghdad (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Attacks in Iraq mainly targeting members of the security forces killed at least 16 people on Sunday, among them three senior army officers, security and medical officials said. The attacks come as Iraq suffers its worst violence since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal period of sectarian tit-for-tat killings. In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber detonated ... more |  |
Lebanon in $3 billion Saudi military aid pledge Beirut (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Lebanon announced a Saudi pledge of $3 billion on Sunday to buy military equipment from France, as it buried leading Sunni politician Mohammad Chatah, killed in a Beirut car bombing. Friday's killing of Chatah, a prominent critic of the Syrian regime, revived painful memories of political assassinations and came as the conflict in Lebanon's larger neighbour stoked sectarian tensions. Sau ... more |  |
China eases one-child policy, abolishes labour camps Beijing (AFP) Dec 28, 2013 - China's top legislative committee formally approved a loosening of the country's hugely controversial one-child policy on Saturday and abolished "re-education through labour" camps, state media reported. The decisions were taken by the standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, at the conclusion of a six-day meeting, according to Xinhua news agency ... more |  |
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