By David Alexander HANOI (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter discussed his call for an end to island-building in the South China Sea in talks on Monday with his Vietnamese counterpart, who said Vietnam had not expanded its islands but had done work to prevent wave erosion. The response appeared to fall short of the immediate halt to land reclamation activity and further militarization of the islands that Carter
An Iranian airline that acquired nine passenger jets in defiance of U.S. sanctions will begin using them on international routes this week, the Fars news agency reported on Monday. Mahan Air, which is blacklisted by Washington, acquired eight second-hand Airbus A340s and one Airbus A321 in early May. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on two firms based in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates on suspicion of helping the purchase.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Three Islamic State suicide bombers targeted a police base in Iraq’s western Anbar province with explosives-laden Humvees on Monday, killing at least 41 police and Shiite militiamen, officials said.
MOSCOW (AP) — At least two civilians and three Ukrainian troops have been killed in eastern Ukraine despite the ongoing cease-fire, officials on both sides of the conflict said Monday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday invited the opposition to inspect his gigantic presidential palace for gold-plated toilet seats, vowing to resign if they could prove their allegations of his bathroom bling. Erdogan’s 1,150-room palace, which was built at a cost of around 490 million euros ($615 million), has been condemned by critics as an absurd extravagance and held up as proof he is slipping further into authoritarianism. Kemal
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose controversial bid to seek a third consecutive term has sparked weeks of civil unrest and a failed coup attempt, on Monday warned against any fresh move to try unseat him. Addressing supporters in his hometown in the north of the country, Nkurunziza thanked those who backed him after a top general launched a failed coup while he was out of the country in May for
The S.C. senator says he is ready “to defeat the enemies that are trying to kill us.”
By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out the conviction of a Pennsylvania man found guilty of making threatening statements on Facebook to his estranged wife, law enforcement officers and others. The court ruled on an 8-1 vote in favor of Anthony Elonis, who served prison time for posting a series of statements on the social media site in 2010 after his wife left him.
In a remarkable turnaround, Senate Republicans have agreed to debate a House bill that would overhaul the NSA’s handling of Americans’ calling records while preserving other domestic surveillance provisions.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Authorities in Bangladesh filed murder charges Monday against dozens of people for their roles in the 2013 collapse of a garment factory building that killed more than 1,100 people.