World News

Defense lawyer En Sovann says Yem Chhrin faces up to life in prison if found guilty of murder, intentionally spreading HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — and practicing medicine without a license.

The reunions, the first since February of last year, are a bitter reminder that the Korean Peninsula is still in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 fighting ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

"China has always advocated handling disputes by peaceful manners and will not use force recklessly even if it comes to issues related to territory and sovereignty," state run Xinhua news agency quoting Fan.

China has overlapping claims with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei in the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

"China wants to use these sorts of forums to promote China's views, explain China's policies and improve China's security image," said regional security expert Li Mingjiang of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

In announcing their capture of the city on Sept. 28, the Taliban vowed to protect civilians and property, presenting themselves as liberators. But residents say the insurgents immediately went on a rampage, looting shops and killing those who stood in their way.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said the reported U.S. plan to send a ship within 22 kilometers (14 miles) of the artificial island in the Spratly Islands "would be consistent with international law and a rules-based order for the region."

The blast hit a warehouse for alcohol materials in the city Monday night and started a fire, but no casualties were reported, local police said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an email to media on Tuesday that the fighters are retreating to avoid further civilian casualties.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday that a blast hit a warehouse for alcohol materials in the city Monday night and started a fire.

The Spratlys, mostly barren islands, reefs and atolls that are believed to be atop oil and natural gas deposits, straddle one of the world's busiest sea lanes. They are also claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei.

The five-man team would leave soon for Kunduz to look into the cause of the Oct. 3 airstrike on a trauma center run by the international charity Doctors Without Borders, Ghani's deputy spokesman Zafar Hashemi said.

The parade, which featured thousands of goose-stepping soldiers and military hardware including missiles and drones mounted on trucks, kicked off what is expected to be one of the North's biggest celebrations ever.

At least 17 people were killed after a blast ripped through a restaurant on Saturday, local authorities said. An initial investigation showed that the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder.

The Shangrao government information office said in an online statement Saturday that 10 miners were initially trapped in the privately run Yongji Coal Mine. It gave no details on the cause of the blast.

Indonesia has already deployed some 25,840 soldiers, police and fire personnel in six provinces, to fight the fires with 25 aircraft conducting water-bombing and cloud-seeding operations.

The abductions have been the latest reminder of the long-running security problems that have hounded the region, which has bountiful resources and promises but is hamstrung by poverty and an array of insurgents and outlaws.

Asked how she could be the leader without being the president, Suu Kyi replied with a smile: "Why not? Do you have to be a president in order to lead a country?''

The Ministry of Public Security said it was treating the blasts on Wednesday as a criminal act, and not terrorism.