Iraq investigating IS chief's fate after air strikes
Baghdad (AFP) Nov 09, 2014 -
Iraq was on Sunday investigating whether Islamic State jihadist group chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in air strikes by US-led coalition warplanes targeting the group's leaders.
The death of the elusive Baghdadi would be a major victory for the coalition of countries carrying out air strikes against IS and providing assistance to Iraqi forces fighting to regain large areas of Iraq that ...
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Rising China, geopolitical tensions take stage at APEC
Beijing (AFP) Nov 10, 2014 -
World leaders including Barack Obama arrived in Beijing Monday for an Asia-Pacific summit hosted by China's Xi Jinping and including Russia's Vladimir Putin, against a backdrop of growing big-power rivalries.
Obama arrives wounded by the Democrats' defeat in the mid-term US elections and with US-Russian relations in the deep freeze, while Moscow warms to an increasingly assertive China.
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New joust over sea dispute expected at ASEAN
Yangon (AFP) Nov 10, 2014 -
Fresh diplomatic sparring over who owns what in the South China Sea is likely to break out this week at a major regional summit in Myanmar, after a year in which China jacked up tensions in the resource-rich waters.
Rival claims have gnawed away at ties between Southeast Asian nations including Vietnam and the Philippines and regional powerhouse China, which claims nearly all of the sea, inc ...
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Japan-China summit 'first step' to better ties: Abe
Beijing (AFP) Nov 10, 2014 -
Japan and China have taken the "first step" on the road to improving badly strained relations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday after a half-hour summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The two men held their first face-to-face meeting since coming to power and after presiding over two years of animosity that some observers have warned was leaning perilously close to military confl ...
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The dragon and the bear: Xi, Putin form power duo at APEC
Beijing (AFP) Nov 08, 2014 -
China's authoritarian President Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin share similar views on issues from human rights to Mikhail Gorbachev, in an increasingly close personal relationship that mirrors their countries' converging interests.
Putin arrives in Beijing Sunday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and his 10th meeting with Xi since the Chinese presiden ...
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Iran, Russia to sign nuclear plants deal Tuesday: media
Tehran (AFP) Nov 09, 2014 -
The head of Iran's atomic energy agency will travel to Russia Tuesday to sign a construction deal for two nuclear power plants on Iran's southern Gulf shores, media reported.
Ali Akbar Salehi's visit will cap months of negotiations between Iran and Russia, and comes as the Islamic republic faces a November 24 deadline for a long-term nuclear agreement with world powers.
"I am going to Mo ...
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US, Iran seek nuclear breakthrough amid domestic pressures
Muscat (AFP) Nov 09, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry will Sunday seek a breakthrough in nuclear talks with Iran, with domestic pressures in both countries now weighing heavily on hopes for a deal.
Kerry will meet Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Muscat, Oman, seeking to close substantial gaps that in recent months have blocked efforts to turn an interim agreement into a comprehensive settlement. ...
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