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Ship is reported seized off the coast of the UAE and is heading toward Iran

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By ADAM SCHRECK AP A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said Thursday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers, 44 miles) northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz. The seizure comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a  much-anticipated visit to Beijing . The leaders’ talks are expected to focus on the war with Iran, which has seriously disrupted trade in oil, gas and other products and rattled the global economy. It happened hours after Israel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had quietly visited the United Arab Emirates during the  Israeli-U.S. war  with Iran, though the UAE swiftly denied that any secret visit had occurred. The Gulf nation  nor...
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China’s Xi warns Trump on Taiwan as leaders meet in Beijing

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By Danny Kemp AFP Chinese President Xi Jinping warned his US counterpart Donald Trump that missteps on Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict”, a stark opening salvo as they met in Beijing on Thursday at a superpower summit. Trump had arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend”, as he predicted that their countries would have “a fantastic future together”. But beyond the pomp as he welcomed Trump, Xi in less effusive tones said the two sides “should be partners and not rivals”, while highlighting the issue of self-ruled democratic Taiwan — which Beijing claims as its territory — straight off the bat. “The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations,” Xi said, according to remarks published by Chinese state media shortly after talks began. “If mishandled, the two nations could collide or even come int...
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UAE and Saudi Arabia ‘carried out secret attacks on Iran’

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By Timour Azhari and Parisa Hafezi Reuters Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said. The Saudi attacks, not previously reported, mark the first time that the kingdom is known to have directly carried out military action on Iranian soil and show it ‌is becoming much bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival. The attacks, launched by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have been carried out in late March, the two Western officials said. One said only that ‌they were “tit-for-tat strikes in retaliation for when Saudi (Arabia) was hit.” Reuters was unable to confirm what the specific targets were. In response to a request for comment, a senior Saudi foreign ministry official did not address directly whether strikes had been carried out. The Iranian foreign minis...
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Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, China warns on US arms sales to Taiwan

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China reiterated its strong opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan on Wednesday, calling on Washington to honour its commitments ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s arrival for a summit in Beijing. The issue ‌of democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, and weapons sales to Taipei is certain to ‌be discussed during two days of meetings this week between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The U.S. is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means ​to defend itself, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. In December, the Trump administration announced an $11 billion weapons package for Taiwan, the largest ever. Zhang Han, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan is an internal issue and a matter for the Chinese people. “We firmly oppose the United States engaging in any form of military ties with China’s Taiwan region, and firmly oppose the United States selling ‌weapons to China’s...
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Military strikes, gang massacres in Nigeria kill around 100 civilians

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The Nigerian military and the “bandit” gangs it is fighting killed around 100 civilians Sunday in one of the bloodiest single days of the country’s conflict against armed groups, sources across the country have told AFP. The Nigerian military killed at least 72 people, many of them civilians, in an airstrike on a crowded market in the northwestern state of Zamfara, a community leader told AFP, with some bodies “blown beyond recognition”. Amnesty International’s Nigeria chapter said “at least 100 civilians” were killed in the attack on the market, reportedly controlled by criminal gangs, while a resident of a nearby village put the toll at 117. The strike came the same day that another attack by the Nigerian air force targeting bandits killed 13 civilians, in central Niger state, the victims’ families told AFP. News of attacks from both the Nigerian military and the various armed groups it is fighting often takes days...
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Bodies retrieved from Indonesian volcano after eruption kills 3 hikers

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By Niniek Karmini And Edna Tarigan, The Associated Press Rescuers on Indonesia ’s remote island of Halmahera found the bodies of two Singaporean hikers on Sunday, two days after they were caught in a volcanic eruption on Mount Dukono, officials said. The bodies of the men, aged 30 and 27, were located a few meters (yards) from where the first victim, an  Indonesian female hiker , was found dead on Saturday, Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency’s spokesperson, said. All three had been about 50 meters (165 feet) from the rim of the main crater. The men’s bodies were covered by thick layers of volcanic material, Muhari said, adding that the densely packed material had complicated evacuation efforts and significantly slowed progress. “The bodies were buried under deep, densely packed volcanic material that is difficult to dig through,” Muhari said, “Rescue teams must proceed cautiously to ensure safety.” The trio were among 20 hikers who set ...
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Car bomb attack and ambush in northwest Pakistan kill at least 21 police

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By Saud Mehsud and Mushtaq Ali Reuters A car bombing at a police post in northwestern Pakistan followed ‌by an ambush on police personnel rushing to the scene has ‌killed at least 21 officers, police said on Sunday. Images from after the attack on Saturday showed ​the structure had been reduced to rubble, with bricks, charred wreckage and mangled vehicles scattered around the area. Police official Sajjad Khan said in a statement that the bodies of 14 officers had been recovered from the collapsed outpost and three other personnel ‌were found alive and ⁠rushed to hospital. A police official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media ⁠said militants first rammed into the post with an explosive-filled car and then entered the premises and began firing on any remaining officers. “Other law enforcement personnel were sent ​to help ​the police, but the terrorists ambushed them ​and caused some casualties,” he ‌said. ...
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