CHINA-MYANMAR Aung San Suu Kyi, the newly installed foreign minister, and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, said that the two had “reached consensus” to approach existing problems through negotiations. Wang’s trip – the first high-level diplomatic visit since Suu Kyi’s party filled top government offices last week – signaled China’s interest in firming up ties tested by the previous military-backed government’s halt of projects such as the USD3.6 billion Myitsone dam.
BANGLADESH A new report estimates that some 20 million Bangladeshis are still being poisoned by arsenic-tainted groundwater drawn from government wells. That number remains unchanged from 10 years ago, despite years of action to dig new wells.
VIETNAM Vietnam’s prime minister steps down after 10 years in office, leaving behind a mixed legacy of promoting failed state enterprises but at the same time attracting foreign investment and daring to challenge China.
AUSTRALIA A Zimbabwean circus acrobat who infected his girlfriend with HIV through frequent unprotected sex won an appeal in Australia’s highest court against a conviction for deliberately passing on the virus that causes AIDS. The five High Court judges ruled there was no evidence that Godfrey Zaburoni, 37, had intended to infect the woman, whose name is suppressed, during a two-year relationship.
AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA A cease-fire has largely held yesterday around Nagorno-Karabakh despite claims of sporadic violations after an outburst of fighting raised fears of an all-out war. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said its forces have been observing the cease-fire that was declared on Tuesday following three days of intense battles involving heavy artillery and rockets.
USA He won’t be on November’s ballot, but President Barack Obama is slowly embracing his role as the anti-Trump, taking on the Republican front-runner in ways that no other Democrat can. Republican Donald Trump emerges from Wisconsin as a damaged front-runner following a crushing primary loss to rival Ted Cruz.
USA FBI agents searching a computer for evidence of spying instead found child pornography, and the resulting criminal case is raising questions about how evidence gained through a secret national security court can be used.
MEXICO Ford Motor Co. plans to build a new USD1.6 billion auto assembly plant in Mexico, creating about 2,800 jobs and shifting small-car production from the U.S. at a time when moving jobs south of the border has become a major issue in the U.S. presidential campaign.
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