Asia

Sri Lanka police wrongly ID American Muslim over attacks

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Sri Lankan police have been left red-faced after wrongly identifying a female American Muslim activist as a suspect in the deadly Easter bombings. On Thursday, police issued a flyer with the names and photos of six people — three men and three women — wanted in connection with attacks that killed over 250 people. Among those listed was a woman identified as Abdul Cader Fathima Khadhiya, accompanied by a photo […]

Xi asks for ‘fair and friendly’ treatment for Chinese

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday called for a “fair and friendly” environment for Chinese companies and citizens overseas, as pushback against its tech giants rises and academics find their visas cancelled. Beijing and Washington have been locked in a bruising trade war — which negotiators have been working to resolve — but there has also been a growing strategic rivalry between the world’s two largest economies. “China’s measures to expand […]

China’s Belt and Road: Ports, trains and infrastructure

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China is trying to woo more nations to join a massive network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks that links dozens of countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa. President Xi Jinping touted the benefits of his signature foreign policy, the Belt and Road Initiative, as he welcomed 37 world leaders at a summit dedicated to it on Friday. Since Xi launched Belt and Road in 2013, China has invested $90 […]

China’s Belt and Road needs to be transparent, fiscally sustainable: Xi

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s Belt and Road projects need to be transparent and fiscally sustainable, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday in apparent acknowledgement of growing concerns about debt linked to his global infrastructure initiative. There will also be “zero tolerance” for corruption, Xi said at a Belt and Road summit, adding that the initiative “is not an exclusive club”. © Agence France-Presse

N.Korea’s Kim says US acted in ‘bad faith’ at Hanoi talks: KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States acted in “bad faith” when he met with President Donald Trump in Hanoi, and that the situation on the peninsula has reached a “critical point,” state media said Friday. Kim made the comments during his first summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Vladivostok, the Korean Central News Agency reported, describing their talks as “unreserved and friendly.” The North […]

Sri Lanka blast toll revised down to 253 as some ‘double-counted’

by Amal Jayasinghe in Colombo and Ammu Kannampilly in Batticaloa COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Authorities in Sri Lanka on Thursday lowered the death toll in a spate of Easter bombings by more than 100 to 253, admitting some of the badly mutilated bodies had been erroneously double-counted. The toll revision will boost the pressure on a government already under fire over its apparent failure to act on intelligence about the attacks, and follows the […]

All Sri Lanka Catholic church services suspended: senior priest

  COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) – All of Sri Lanka’s Catholic churches have been ordered to stay closed and suspend services until security improves after deadly Easter bombings, a senior priest told AFP Thursday. “On the advice of the security forces we are keeping all churches closed,” the priest said. “There will be no public mass said until further notice.” Security has already been stepped up at churches across the country, government officials said. A […]

Kim, Putin vow to seek closer ties at first talks

  by Maria Panina  VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un met face-to-face for the first time on Thursday, vowing to seek closer ties as they look to counter US influence. The summit in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok came with Kim locked in a nuclear stand-off with Washington and Putin keen to put Moscow forward as a player in another global flashpoint. The two leaders shook hands […]

China vows to battle Belt and Road debt risks

by Ryan McMorrow and Elizabeth Law BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Thursday rejected “misunderstandings” fuelling concerns about its Belt and Road global infrastructure programme but vowed to tame debt risks as it opened a summit on its signature foreign policy. President Xi Jinping’s pet project is a reboot of the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects. The Belt and Road Initiative […]

Japan court grants $4.5m bail to Carlos Ghosn

by Richard CARTER TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese court granted Carlos Ghosn bail Thursday, meaning the former Nissan boss could soon walk out of his Tokyo detention center to prepare his defense against multiple charges of financial misconduct. The Tokyo District Court set bail at 500 million yen ($4.5 million) as the 65-year-old auto sector legend faces four charges ranging from concealing part of his salary from shareholders to syphoning off Nissan funds for […]

North Korea’s Kim set for first summit with Putin

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet for their first-ever summit Thursday, with the visitor looking for Moscow’s backing in his nuclear stand-off with the United States. The meeting on Russky island near the Pacific port of Vladivostok in Russia will be Kim’s first face-to-face talks with another head of state since returning from his Hanoi summit with US President Donald Trump, which broke down without […]

Saudi faces rising criticism after mass execution

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Saudi Arabia faced worldwide criticism Wednesday for its mass execution of a group made up mostly of people from the kingdom’s Shiite Muslim minority, some of whom the UN said were minors when charged. UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned Riyadh’s Tuesday execution of 37 Saudi nationals, saying “it was particularly abhorrent that at least three of those killed were minors at the time of their sentencing”. The EU […]