World Briefs

US–TAIWAN The Obama administration is planning its first arms sale to Taiwan in four years, congressional aides said, a move that typically draws stiff criticism from Beijing but is unlikely to derail US-China relations. The planned USD1.8 billion sale would include two decommissioned frigates, minesweepers, Stinger missiles, anti-armor and anti-tank missiles and other equipment.

NORTH KOREA The Supreme Court sentenced a Canadian pastor to life in prison with hard labor for what it called crimes against the state. Hyeon Soo Lim, who pastors the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, was given the sentence after a brief trial.

USA Republican presidential candidates sought to cement – or improve – their standings in a debate yesterday (Macau time) that comes less than two months before the first votes of the election season are cast. The CNN debate in Las Vegas marked the first time the White House hopefuls shared a stage since terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. They flashed their foreign policy credentials and targeted each others’ weaknesses in the debate that lasted more than two hours and focused exclusively on foreign policy and national security.

SYRIA In a major policy change, Secretary of State John Kerry accepts Russia’s longstanding demand that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s future be determined by his own people. Meanwhile, dozens die in airstrikes on fuel markets.
AUSTRIA Authorities are investigating two men arrested several days ago for possible links to last month’s attacks in Paris that killed 130 people, officials said yesterday. State Prosecutor Robert Holzleitner said the two — arrested during the weekend in a migrants’ shelter in Salzburg (pictured above) — are suspected of “participation in a terrorist organization,” with investigations focused on their possible connection to the Nov. 13 attacks.

SAUDI ARABIA Projecting its ambition for regional leadership, Saudi Arabia says it has lined up most of the Arab world, NATO member Turkey and several African and Asian countries behind a vaguely defined “Islamic military alliance” against terrorists.

RUSSIA Russia’s top security agency says it has been investigating 1,600 individuals and legal entities suspected of aiding the Islamic State group. Alexander Bortnikov, director of the Federal Security Service also said that his agency has identified 2,900 Russian citizens suspected of involvement in extremist groups in Syria and Iraq. 198 of them have been killed in fighting and another 214 have returned to Russia.

USA If the youngest giant panda cub at the National Zoo is stressed out about appearing in front of crowds for the first time, he isn’t showing it. Keepers were expecting Bei Bei to squawk and squirm during an audience with a small news media contingent this week. Instead, under bright television lights with cameras clicking, he quickly fell asleep on an examination table, leaving a small puddle of drool on the tablecloth. Panda biologist Laurie Thompson explained that before he went in front of the cameras, Bei Bei was playing with a piece of bamboo and trying to walk. Just like a newborn human, he tires easily.