JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — More than 10,000 Indonesians took to the streets of their capital to call for tolerance and unity in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, after police opened a blasphemy investigation into the city’s Christian governor. Earlier this month, Jakarta was rocked by a massive protest by conservative Muslims against the popular … Continue reading
BANGKOK (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ___ EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the … Continue reading
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said Wednesday, November 23, 2016 he has “no worries” about Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president, adding that he expects the businessman will align his future policies with global realities. The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner’s remarks were his most extensive yet regarding the … Continue reading
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A special Cambodian court on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 upheld the life sentences for the two most senior surviving members of the Khmer Rouge regime, which was responsible for the deaths of 1.7 million people. The court said the massive scale of the crimes showed the two men’s complete lack … Continue reading
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A bystander dressed only in underpants helped police arrest an unlicensed driver who allegedly crashed a car into an Australian takeout restaurant on Thursday then fled. Daniel McConnell said he was lying in bed at home in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra at 2 a.m. when a car slammed into the … Continue reading
SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS, Philippines (AP) — Communist guerrillas warned that a peace deal with President Rodrigo Duterte’s government is unlikely to be reached if he won’t end the Philippines’ treaty alliance with the United States and resist foreign control by other countries he’s trying to befriend, like China and Russia. In a clandestine news conference … Continue reading
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A German kidnapped by Somali pirates eight years ago may now be held captive by Islamic militants in the southern Philippines, the country’s military said Monday, Nov.7, after finding the man’s yacht and a woman’s body inside. Regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said Abu Sayyaf spokesman Muamar Askali claimed the … Continue reading
SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police have made an unusual find while searching the bag of a woman who was being arrested: a baby koala. Police in Brisbane said that when they asked the 50-year-old woman if she had anything to declare Sunday night, she handed over a zipped canvas bag that she said contained a … Continue reading
BANGKOK (AP) — While tens of thousands of mourners have paid their respects to Thailand’s late king at Bangkok’s Grand Palace, where his body is being kept before cremation, a different kind of visitor appeared in front of the palace gates Tuesday, Nov. 8. Some 200 mahouts leading nine, specially chosen white elephants and two … Continue reading
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Gay rights advocates on Tuesday, Nov. 8, welcomed Australia’s Senate voting down a government plan to hold a nonbinding public vote on recognizing gay marriage and called on Parliament to legislate for marriage equality soon. The Senate voted 33-29 late Monday against holding the plebiscite Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s conservative government … Continue reading
HONG KONG (AP) — A British banker was convicted of murder Tuesday, Nov.8, for killing two Indonesian women in Hong Kong, torturing one of them over three days while using cocaine in a gruesome case that shocked the Chinese financial hub. The nine-person jury returned unanimous verdicts against Rurik Jutting after a two-week trial in … Continue reading
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, Nov.8, that the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos can be buried at a heroes’ cemetery, a decision that opponents said rolled back the democratic triumph of the “people power” revolt that ousted the strongman three decades ago. “While he was not all good,” the 15-member court … Continue reading
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s president on Wednesday, Nov. 9, welcomed home Sharbat Gulla, National Geographic’s famed green-eyed “Afghan Girl,” just hours after she was deported from Pakistan, the latest in the odyssey of the globally recognized refugee. Gulla’s deportation came after a regional court in the Pakistani city of Peshawar convicted her on charges … Continue reading
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A U.S. Navy warship will visit New Zealand next month for the first time since the 1980s, ending a 30-year-old military stalemate between the countries that was triggered when New Zealand banned nuclear warships. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced Tuesday, October 18, 2016, that he has given clearance … Continue reading
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine police van rammed into protesters, leaving several bloodied, as an anti-U.S. rally turned violent Wednesday, October 19, 2016, at the American Embassy in Manila. The van’s driver, police officer Franklin Kho, told reporters he did not deliberately hit the protesters but was trying to drive away from them because … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 