China coal firm quells protests, pays out wages
SHUANGYASHAN – A protest by thousands of state coal mine workers in a depressed part of northeastern China has ended, with locals saying authorities agreed to pay the labourers two…
Five Vietnamese Australian students awarded with AVEPA scholarships
MELBOURNE – The Australia-Vietnam Education Promotion Association (AVEPA) has awarded five Australian Vietnamese students who have just finished their Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) with scholarships worth $5,000 each. The…
Venezuela says 14 bodies found are among 21 missing from massacre
CARACAS – Investigators have found the remains of at least 14 people presumed to be among 21 miners who went missing over a week ago after a massacre near a…
Putin orders start of Russian forces’ withdrawal from Syria
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will start pulling his armed forces out of Syria, five months after he ordered a military intervention that turned the tide of…
Merkel says Germany is benefiting from closure of Balkan migrant route
BERLIN/ IDOMENI – There is no question that Germany has benefited from the closure of the Balkan migrant route north into Europe, Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a news conference…
Spanish police arrest 30 accused of robbing drug traffickers
MADRID – Spanish police have arrested 30 people accused of robbing, kidnapping and torturing drug traffickers, the Interior Ministry says. Police detained 21 Moroccans, eight Spaniards and one person from…
UAE plane crashed in Yemen due to technical fault, pilots killed-coalition
ADEN – Two pilots died when a United Arab Emirates Mirage plane crashed in Yemen on Monday due to a technical fault while conducting military operations for the Saudi-led alliance,…
European-Russian spacecraft heads out in search for life on Mars
Europe and Russia have launched a spacecraft in a joint mission to sniff out signs of life on Mars and bring humans a step closer to flying to the red…
Bangladesh arrests Islamist militants over bomb plot, seizes explosives
DHAKA – Officials of Bangladesh’s anti-terrorism unit have detained five suspected members of a banned Islamist militant group for planning attacks during celebrations of the Bengali New Year next month,…
Malaysia, Australia to discuss China moves in disputed South China Sea
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says he will meet his Australian counterpart next week to discuss China’s military build-up in the disputed South China Sea and hold…
