Former aides begin 'blacklist' appeal

SEOUL - Former top aides of ousted President Park Geun-hye, who were convicted of running a blacklist of culture figures deemed critical of the Park administration, will begin appearing in a court this week in the appeal of their jail terms for abuse of power.

Freed hostage accuses Taliban of brutality

SMITHS FALLS, Canada - Freed hostage Joshua Boyle has told public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corp his children are exploring their new home in Canada but are still very fearful after a brutal yearslong ordeal at the hands of Taliban-linked kidnappers.

Silk Road musicians strike chord for dialogue

GENEVA - A group of musicians from various Silk Road countries on Saturday performed at a special concert at the United Nations office in Geneva as an example of intercultural dialogue and understanding.

'Resilient' Asia able to fend off storms

WASHINGTON - Asia is much more able to weather financial storms with lessons learned from the region's financial crisis of 20 years ago, said a senior official at the International Monetary Fund.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

TV series highlights Xi's key role

With the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China just days away, a documentary produced by the Discovery Channel about President Xi Jinping and his governance of China started airing on Saturday in more than 37 countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region.

French army charter plane crashes in Cote d'Ivoire, four Moldovans killed

ABIDJAN - Four Moldovan citizens were killed and two others were injured on Saturday when a cargo plane chartered by the French military crashed into the sea near the airport in Cote d'Ivoire's main city, Abidjan, Ivorian and French officials said.

'Foreign fighters have left Raqa'

AIN ISSA, Syria - Some foreign Islamic State group fighters have left the one-time jihadist bastion of Raqa in Syria under a deal as the city's capture nears, a local official said on Sunday.

Austrians set to elect young leader

VIENNA - Austrians voted on Sunday in a watershed election tipped to see conservative Sebastian Kurz, 31, become the European Union's youngest leader and form an alliance with the far-right, in the bloc's latest populist test.

Chinese aid helps Myanmar refugees

DHAKA - Habiba narrowly escaped violence in Myanmar and managed to flee to Bangladesh, leaving all of her belongings behind in her motherland. She left her home in a village in the violence-ridden district of Rakhine, in western Myanmar, which borders Bangladesh, on Sept 30, after her husband was killed along with scores of others.

Japan's media industry fatally flawed

TOKYO - The recent news that a young reporter at Japan's public broadcaster had worked herself to death came as little surprise to those inside the country's media, where a culture of excessively long hours is the norm.

Octopus skin inspires versatile new material

MIAMI - The octopus is a master of disguise because it can stretch, bend and make its skin take on new shapes. Inspired by these intelligent cephalopods, researchers said on Thursday they have invented a new kind of material that can act similarly.