US Navy ship collisions prompt rare criminal charges

WASHINGTON - The US Navy's decision to charge five officers with negligent homicide for their involvement in two fatal ship crashes marks a rare legal move that, if proven, could send them to jail for up to three years.

Bus inferno in Kazakhstan kills 52

ASTANA, Kazakhstan - Fifty-two people were killed on Thursday when the bus they were traveling on caught fire, the central Asian nation's emergency services ministry said in a statement.

Pact with Australia leads to claims of Japan expansion

Visiting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe agreed on Thursday to speed up negotiations on a defense pact and sign it at an early date, an act regarded by a Chinese expert as evidence of Japan's plan to expand its military power.

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DPRK, ROK agree to march together

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea agreed during talks on Wednesday to form a combined women's ice hockey team to take part in next month's Winter Olympics in the ROK city of Pyeongchang, and march together under a unified peninsula flag at the opening ceremony, a joint statement released by ROK's Unification Ministry said in a statement.

Bannon refuses to answer Congress panel

WASHINGTON - Steve Bannon, former US President Donald Trump adviser, on Tuesday refused to answer questions from a congressional committee probing allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, saying he was under orders from the White House not to.

Renewal of accord with US raises questions over Japan's nuclear plans

The renewal of a Tokyo-Washington agreement on the use of nuclear energy has sparked fears that Japan may take the chance to make nuclear weapons, experts said.

Connection between leaders elevates Tajikistan relations

The meetings between the heads of state has helped lift the relationship between China and Tajikistan to a higher level, according to the ambassador of Tajikistan to China.

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Turkey vows to strangle 'terror army'

ISTANBUL - Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan has threatened on Monday to "strangle" a planned 30,000-strong US-backed force in Syria "before it's even born", as Washington's backing for Kurdish fighters drove a wedge into relations with one of its main Middle East allies.

Wang makes last stop with 'major boost' to Africa's B&R participation

Sao Tome and Principe will be welcomed when attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation's Beijing Summit this year as a new member of the panel, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said.

Thirteen siblings found chained at home

PERRY, California - A couple has been charged with torture after police rescued their 13 malnourished children from a home where some of them had been chained to beds, and neighbors on Monday described the family as shut-ins who shunned social contact.