CHINA The government yesterday attacked the newly created U.S. Space Force as a “direct threat to outer space peace and security.” Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that China is “deeply concerned about it and resolutely opposed to it.”
CHINA The government said it plans to slash tariffs as of Jan. 1 on more than 850 products including frozen pork, asthma and diabetes medications and some high-tech components to better develop its economy.
NORTH KOREA A new satellite image of a factory where North Korea makes military equipment used to launch long-range missiles shows the construction of a new structure. The release of several images from Planet Labs comes amid concern that North Korea could launch a rocket or missile as it seeks concessions in stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States. More on p15
NEW ZEALAND The death toll from a volcanic eruption in New Zealand earlier this month has risen to 19 after police said yesterday another person died at an Auckland hospital overnight. There were 47 people visiting the tourist destination of White Island when the volcano erupted Dec. 9, killing 13 people initially and leaving more than two dozen others hospitalized with severe burns.
IRAQ Politicians have missed another deadline to name a new prime minister because of disagreements over which is the largest bloc in parliament, deepening a crisis that has roiled the country since October amid mass protests and state crackdown that has killed hundreds of people.
SAUDI ARABIA sentenced five people to death yesterday for the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year by a team of Saudi agents. The killing of Khashoggi stunned the international community and also many Saudi citizens, who were deeply shocked that a Saudi national could be killed by 15 government agents inside one of the kingdom’s consulates.
AFGHANISTAN President Ashraf Ghani appears to have narrowly won a second term, according to preliminary results from September’s balloting that were announced Sunday, although his main challenger rejected the outcome as illegitimate. If the outcome stands despite the complaints of ballot fraud, it could give Ghani the authority he has sought to demand a leading role in peace talks with the Taliban in the country devastated by decades of war.
No Comments