South Korea on Wednesday test-launched a new ballistic missile that can hit all of North Korea, the president’s office said, developed under a new agreement with the United States that lets Seoul extend the weapon’s range to up to 800 km (500 miles). President Park Geun-hye made a rare visit to a missile base on the west coast to watch the launch of the guided missile, which will be a
By Alessandra Prentice and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday fought their first serious battles in months and Ukraine’s defense minister said an attempt by rebels to take the eastern town of Maryinka had been thwarted. Ukraine’s military said the Russian-backed rebels had tried to advance using tanks and up to 1,000 fighters west of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk, in the most
Islamic State militants have closed gates of a dam on the Euphrates River in western Iraq, reducing the water and giving them greater freedom of movement to attack government forces downstream on the southern bank, local officials said. The militants have redirected the flow of water to their advantage on the battlefield around the city of Ramadi. The Euphrates has acted as a barrier between the militants who control its
Russian federal investigators said on Wednesday they had testimony from a former Ukrainian air force mechanic supporting a Moscow theory that a Malaysian passenger plane downed in east Ukraine last summer was attacked by a Ukrainian fighter jet. Moscow has stepped up a campaign denying any responsibility for the downing of the airliner on July 17, 2014, with the loss of all 298 people aboard. Several versions presented by various
By Tom Perry and Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian troops and militia battled on Wednesday to repel an Islamic State attack on the city of Hasaka in the northeast, and a Kurdish official said the government forces may not be able to hold off the jihadists. Hasaka city is divided into zones run separately by the government of President Bashar al-Assad and a Kurdish administration, whose well-organized militia YPG
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The second-in-command of Yemen’s Shiite rebels on Wednesday assailed the Saudi-led airstrikes pounding his group’s positions and allied forces, insisting they are ready to travel to Geneva for U.N.-mediated peace talks on ending the country’s civil war.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders said Wednesday he plans to show cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on Dutch television after Parliament refused to display them.
Ginger pickles, soup with cabbage and porcini, and reindeer tartare: as economic troubles take a bite out of imported food, Russian restaurants are increasingly turning to local delicacies. Gone is the era when Italian and French cuisine dominated Moscow’s high-class eateries. The economic crisis and import embargo keeps foie gras and Parmesan out of Russian kitchens, so new venues like Poyekhali (Let’s Go) are aiming to “tell their own story”
JIANLI, China (AP) — Chinese authorities deployed scores more divers and a large crane as they escalated efforts Wednesday to recover more than 410 people believed to be trapped inside an overturned river cruise ship. The capsizing late Monday of the multi-decked Eastern Star in the Yangtze River is on track to become the country’s deadliest maritime disaster in seven decades. Chinese authorities have launched a high-profile response while tightly
A new CNN/ORC poll finds a majority view the former president favorably for the first time in more than a decade.
