China 60 years on: From Mao to today
China’s achievements in the last 60 years have come in zigs and zags. The best place to look back at what China went through in the past six decades is Tiananmen, or the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Behind it lies the Imperial Palace, or Forbidden City, where China’s Emperors used to live. The emperor is now history, but Tiananmen remains Beijing’s political center.
Scores dead, villages flattened in tsunami
Survivors of a deadly earthquake-triggered tsunami which hit the Samoan islands Tuesday have described how they watched the sea swallow up coastal towns and villages leaving devastation in its wake. At least 111 people are confirmed killed in Samoa, neighboring American Samoa and Tonga. But officials in the region have expressed fears the toll will rise as rescue workers struggle to reach outlying villages.
Major earthquake strikes Indonesia
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 struck in Indonesia on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
U.N. condemns violence in Guinea
The United Nations Security Council has condemned political violence in Guinea that reportedly killed nearly 160 people.
Saudi probe: Would-be assassin hid bomb
The would-be assassin of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, head of Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism efforts, hid his bomb in his underwear, apparently believing that cultural taboos would prevent a search in that part of his body, according to a Saudi government official close to the investigation.
Turning point in the war in Afghanistan?
A meeting between President Obama and his national security team Wednesday could be a turning point in the war in Afghanistan, says someone who’s been in similar meetings.
Peru’s Fujimori sentenced to fourth prison term
Peru’s supreme court on Wednesday sentenced ex-President Alberto Fujimori to six years in prison for authorizing illegal wiretaps and bribing congressmen and journalists.
Japan-Tennessee custody fight not so clear-cut
The case of a Tennessee man jailed in Japan for trying to snatch back his children from his estranged wife is not as clear-cut as it’s been made out to be, authorities here said Wednesday.
U.S. plans to withdraw 4,000 troops from Iraq
The United States will withdraw another 4,000 troops in Iraq by the end of October, the U.S. military commander in Iraq says in prepared testimony for a congressional hearing.
Deadly quake, tsunami hits American Samoa
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck the Pacific near American Samoa, triggering towering tsunami waves that gushed over the island and leaving at least 22 people dead.