USA

US apologises after Indonesian military chief denied boarding

The US has apologised after Indonesia’s military chief Gatot Nurmantyo was cleared to travel to the US after initially being prohibited from boarding a flight to Washington.Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Monday that the issue had been resolved after she earlier met with deputy US ambassador to Indonesia Erin McKee.

23 October 2017
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Abe targets N. Korea after 'super-majority' victory

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stormed to a landslide "super-majority" in snap Japanese elections, near complete projections showed Monday, with the hardline nationalist immediately pledging to "deal firmly" with North Korea.Abe's conservative coalition is on track to win at least 312 seats with only a handful left to call, according to public broadcaster NHK, giving him a coveted two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament.That will allow him to pursue his cheris

23 October 2017
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Three wounded in shooting near US mine in Papua

At least one gunman has wounded three people near a huge Indonesian gold and copper mine owned by US firm Freeport-McMoRan, the company said Sunday.The attacks occurred near the vast Grasberg mine in Indonesia's rugged eastern province of Papua.Mysterious shooting ambushes on the roads surrounding the company's massive open-pit mine are not uncommon and have resulted in deaths in the past.The attacks on Saturday injured two policemen and a security contractor, according to Freeport

22 October 2017
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Xi to transform China into global power by 2050

President Xi Jinping warned of “severe” challenges while laying out a road map to turn China into a leading global power by 2050, as he kicked off a twice-a-decade party gathering expected to cement his influence into the next decade.In a speech that ran for more than three hours on Wednesday, Xi declared victory over “many difficult, long overdue problems” since he took power in 2012.

18 October 2017
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Secret files show US knew about Indonesia massacres

The United States government had intimate knowledge of the Indonesian army's bloody anti-communist purge in the 1960s, describing the mass killings as a "widespread slaughter", newly declassified documents have revealed.The 39 recently declassified US Embassy documents cover the period from 1964-1968, at the peak of the Cold War, and uncover new details about one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Indonesian history.Historians say up to 500,000 alleged Indonesian Communis

18 October 2017
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N.Korea: Nuclear war 'may break out any moment'

North Korea warned that a nuclear war “may break out any moment” as the US and South Korea began one of the largest joint naval drills off both the east and west coasts of the peninsula.Kim In Ryong, North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday that his nation had become a “full-fledged nuclear power which possesses the delivery means of various ranges” and warned that “the entire US mainland is within our firing range.” He also called North Korea “a responsible nucle

17 October 2017
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Top Philippine Islamist militant Hapilon killed

The head of the Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, who figures on the US "most wanted terrorists" list, has been killed in the battle to reclaim a militant-held Philippines city, the country's defence minister said Monday.

16 October 2017
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N. Korea readies missile launch ahead of US-S. Korea drill

North Korea is believed to be preparing to launch a ballistic missile ahead of an upcoming joint naval drill by the US and South Korea, a news report said Saturday, citing a government source.The US navy said Friday that a US aircraft carrier will lead the drill in the coming week, a fresh show of force against North Korea as tensions soar over the hermit state's weapons programme.The move will likely rile Pyongyang which has previously responded angrily to joint exercises.The Donga Ilbo

14 October 2017
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Trump meets advisers over N. Korean threat

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday discussed "a range of options" with his national security team to respond to North Korea's recent missile and nuclear tests, his office said.The briefing by his defence secretary James Mattis and top military officer General Joseph Dunford "focused on a range of options to respond to any form of North Korean aggression or, if necessary, to prevent North Korea from threatening the United States and its allies with nuclear weapons,"

11 October 2017
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Trump to host Singapore's PM at White House

US President Donald Trump will host Singapore's prime minister in Washington later this month, the White House said Tuesday, with North Korea likely topping the agenda.In a statement announcing Lee Hsien Loong's October 23 White House visit, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the meeting would reaffirming ties with "one of America's closest partners in Asia for more than 50 years."Singapore has long positioned itself as something of a cultural and political t

11 October 2017
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Will the US rejoin the TPP?

In the city of Monessen, Pennsylvania, then presumptive US Presidential candidate, Donald Trump took to the stage to address a crowd of supporters.“Today, I am going to talk about how to Make America Wealthy Again,” he began.Trump then continued his barrage of outrage and criticisms towards the elites who have been exporting jobs from the US and stifling the American middle class. His speech culminated to the unveiling of his own plan to bring jobs back to the country.

10 October 2017
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Cambodia's PM demonstrates power of China's cash

Sitting last month in the Phnom Penh villa that houses Cambodia’s main opposition party, Mu Sochua searched for a way to fight back against one of the world’s longest-serving leaders.Her boss in the Cambodia National Rescue Party, whose face adorns a banner hanging in front of the building, was in jail over accusations that he plotted with the US to seize power. Independent media outlets closed down due to government pressure.

10 October 2017
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