Japan's PM defends new security laws as protesters denounce them
Tokyo (AFP) March 29, 2016 -
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that new security laws that took effect Tuesday will strengthen Tokyo's ability to defend itself amid increasing threats as opponents took to the streets to say they risk hurling the country into war.
Legislators in September passed the bills into law, a shift that could see Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time since the end of World War II. ...
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Iranian president postpones Austria visit 'for security reasons'
Vienna (AFP) March 29, 2016 -
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has postponed for security reasons a planned visit to Austria this week, only his second to Europe since last year's nuclear deal, Austria's presidency said Tuesday.
"The visit for March 30-31 by President Hassan Rouhani and his delegation has been postponed by the Iranian side for security reasons," it said in a statement, without giving further details.
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Lockheed Martin Opens Space Fence Test Facility
Moorestown NJ (SPX) Mar 29, 2016 -
Objects in space will soon be monitored by a radar array for the U.S. Air Force's Space Fence as part of Lockheed Martin's new test site representative of the larger system under construction on the remote Kwajalein Island.
The test facility will be used for early validation of hardware, firmware and software that will enable the Space Fence to detect, track, and catalog orbita ...
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North Korean defector criticises China in rare Beijing talk
Beijing (AFP) March 26, 2016 -
A North Korean defector made a rare public appearance in China on Saturday, criticising Beijing's repatriation of asylum seekers despite alleged warnings from South Korea not to speak out.
Hyeonseo Lee, who escaped from North Korea to China in 1997, called on Beijing to let refugees from her original homeland - who it routinely sends back - pass "safely without being caught by the Chinese ...
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Taiwan's KMT picks China-friendly leader after election loss
Taipei (AFP) March 26, 2016 -
Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang party picked a China-friendly leader on Saturday as it struggles to regain public support after a crushing defeat in national elections.
The former ruling KMT lost the presidency to Tsai Ing-wen of the China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in January, as well as control of parliament for the first time in the island's history amid public unease over ...
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Apple says San Bernardino iPhone could affect NY case
New York (AFP) March 25, 2016 -
Apple has said the US government's potential ability to unlock a phone used by one of the San Bernardino killers means the company may not have to provide help in a similar case in New York.
The tech giant wrote a letter to a federal court in Brooklyn on Thursday, setting out its position after the government said it may have found a way to crack the shooter's iPhone without Apple's help. ...
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Chinese media laud hacker for US spying
Beijing (AFP) March 25, 2016 -
Spying on the US is a service to China, state-run media said Wednesday, singing the praises of a man who confessed to hacking American defence contractors on Beijing's behalf.
Chinese national Su Bin, 50, pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets from the companies, including plans for transport planes and fighter jets.
In a plea agreement filed Wednesday, he admitted to conspiring with t ...
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