BERLIN – Germany plans to acquire a new air defense system and four new battleships over the coming years for a total of nearly 8 billion euros ($8.9 billion). Military chief Gen. Volker Wieker said Tuesday that Germany plans to get the Medium Extended Air Defense System, or MEADS, the …
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KINSHASA, Congo – The military spokesman for the U.N. mission in Congo says that the Congolese troops backed by U.N. forces launched a military operation against a rebel group in the country’s northeast. Jean-Marie Joseph Goncalves said Wednesday that U.N. forces were taking part in the operation by both land …
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The International Criminal Court says the trial of former Congo militia leader Bosco Ntaganda will start in July, weighing charges including murder, rape and using child soldiers. The court set the date Tuesday, a day after rejecting the idea of beginning the case in the Democratic …
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PARIS – A French prosecutor says a judicial investigation has begun into the Germanwings jet crash that killed all 150 people on board. Brice Robin, the Marseille prosecutor in charge of the original probe, said the independent judicial inquiry started late Wednesday in an involuntary manslaughter case, allowing investigating magistrates …
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BUJUMBURA, Burundi – A civic leader in Burundi says at least 77 civilians have been killed in clashes with the security forces since the start of anti-government protests in April. Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, who heads the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons, said Friday that at …
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LONDON – Britain’s National Crime Agency says roughly 300 possible suspects have been identified in an investigation into large-scale child sex abuse in a northern English town. Senior Investigating Office Steve Baldwin said Wednesday the scale of abuse in the city of Rotherham was horrific and that large amounts of …
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PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines – Philippine officials say China has continued with its major island-making work in at least two reefs in the South China Sea’s Spratly island chain, casting doubt on a Chinese pronouncement that some of its massive construction in seven sites there would end soon. Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon …
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An indebted Dubai real estate developer says it will repay more than half a billion dollars in money owed to banks and trade creditors as part of its financial restructuring. The state-controlled company, Limitless, said Monday that more than 90 percent of the $564 million …
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JERUSALEM – Israel has deported a group of pro-Palestinian activists, including a former Tunisian president, who tried to breach its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said among those sent home Tuesday was former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki. Another 14 people on board the activist …
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BEIJING – Beijing has expressed displeasure with Turkey for accepting 174 members of the Uighur ethnic minority who fled China. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Friday that Beijing opposes “any actions that aid and abet, or even support illegal migration.” The Uighur group, mostly women and children, arrived …
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