BEIJING (AP) — China summoned the American ambassador to protest the U.S. Navy’s sailing of a warship close to one of China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea, in an act that challenged Chinese sovereignty claims. China’s Foreign Ministry said on its website Wednesday that Executive Vice Minister Zhang Yesui told Max Baucus that … Continue reading
HEMEIMEEM AIRBASE, Syria (AP) — Sleek combat jets loaded with precision bunker-buster bombs roar into the skies as soldiers in desert-style uniforms march past rows of neat housing at this Russian military base at one of Syria’s largest airports. The air campaign in Syria, Russia’s first military action outside the former Soviet Union since the … Continue reading
HONG KONG (AP) — More than 120 people were injured when a high-speed ferry traveling from the Asian gambling hub of Macau to Hong Kong slammed into an object floating in the water, authorities said Monday. The hydrofoil, carrying 163 passengers and 11 crew members, hit an “unidentified object” off a small island in Hong … Continue reading
NEW DELHI (AP) — Many in India’s literary community are disgusted. Dozens of writers say every day brings more evidence of intolerance and bigotry going mainstream — a man lynched allegedly for eating beef, an atheist critic of Hindu idol worship gunned down — all met by a deafening silence from the government. As of … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — The port city of Tianjin in northern China was rocked by a warehouse blast, police said Tuesday, two months after massive explosions in the city left 173 people dead or missing. The blast hit a warehouse for alcohol materials in the city Monday night and started a fire, but no casualties were … Continue reading
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Russian warships in the Caspian Sea fired cruise missiles as Syrian government troops launched a ground offensive Wednesday in central Syria, in the first major combined air-and-ground assault since Moscow began its military campaign in the country last week. The missiles, launched from a Russian flotilla in the Caspian Sea, travelled … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries have agreed to an ambitious trade pact that cuts trade barriers, sets labor and environmental standards and protects multinational corporations’ intellectual property. The agreement on the Trans Pacific Partnership was reached Monday after marathon negotiating sessions in Atlanta through the weekend. “We think … Continue reading
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Chinese scientist who turned to ancient texts to discover a powerful malaria drug shared the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday with American and Japanese researchers whose discoveries have raised hopes of eliminating other tropical diseases. Tu Youyou — the first-ever Chinese medicine laureate — will share the 8 million Swedish … Continue reading
MADRID (AP) — The U.S. does not believe Russia’s incursion into Turkey’s airspace was an accident, a senior U.S. official said Monday, adding that urgent talks are underway on what to do about the weekend incident. The official said the event is the type of unprofessional military conduct that U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday that the Russian airstrikes in Syria appear to have targeted areas that do not include Islamic State fighters, a development which Secretary of State John Kerry said would cause “grave concern” for the United States. Kerry told the United Nations Security Council that the U.S. would … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Vietnam’s president told The Associated Press on Monday that China’s island-building in the disputed South China Sea violates international law and endangers maritime security. President Truong Tan Sang also urged the U.S., which has expressed mounting concern over China’s assertive behavior, to fully lift a ban on lethal weapons sales to … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian military jets carried out airstrikes Wednesday against the Islamic State group in Syria for the first time — a move that came after President Vladimir Putin received parliamentary approval to send Russian troops to Syria. The airstrikes targeted positions, vehicles and warehouses that Russia believes belong to IS militants, ministry spokesman … Continue reading
MOSCOW (AP) — The latest developments as Russia and other nations counter Islamic State militants in Syria. All times local: 5:00 p.m. Pentagon’s press secretary says Defense Secretary Ash Carter has instructed his staff to talk to Russian officials about how to keep each other’s air operations in Syria from colliding or getting in each … Continue reading
LHASA, China (AP) — Ji Yunpeng misses hotpot dinners with his wife and daughter back in Beijing and fights insomnia caused by the high altitude in the Tibetan capital by playing computer games, and, occasionally, studying Tibetan Buddhism. “It’s just out of pure intellectual curiosity,” he said, aware that genuine religious interest would be a … Continue reading
BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Asia’s largest movie festival kicks off Thursday at a time when the region’s influence on the global movie industry is on the rise. Entering its 20th year in the South Korean port city, the Busan International Film Festival has seen its influence and size expand in stride with the growth … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 