Reuters, Moscow
Vladimir Putin summoned his security council and the Russian Navy announced war games in the Black Sea a day after the Russian president accused Ukraine of trying to provoke a conflict over Crimea, which Moscow seized and annexed in 2014. The belligerent posture heightened worries in Ukraine that Russia may plan to ramp up fighting in a war between Kiev and pro-Russian eastern separatists that had been de-escalated by a shaky peace process.
Iranian FM to visit Turkey after coup
AFP, Turkey
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will hold talks in Turkey on Friday, the Turkish foreign ministry announced, in the most significant visit by a foreign official to the country since last month’s failed coup. Zarif will meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara and will be received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his palace, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
10 dead in Philippines jailbreak
AFP, Manila
Ten prisoners in the Philippines were killed when a suspected jailbreak and attempt to kidnap the warden went wrong in a Manila suburb, authorities said Friday.
The prisoners, including two Chinese, were meeting with the warden of the Paranaque City jail in his office when the explosion occurred on Thursday evening, killing the inmates and wounding the warden, said national jail service spokesman Senior Inspector Xavier Solda.
Two Japan’s coast guard ships for Philippines
Reuters, Manila
Japan and the Philippines have begun talks for the transfer of two large coast guard ships to Manila, to help patrol the disputed South China Sea, a Japanese foreign ministry official said on Friday, as part of a deal on defense equipment.
The two brand-new 90-metre (295-ft) multi-role response vessels will be in addition to ten 44-metre (144-ft) mid-sized coast guard ships, worth 8.8 billion pesos ($188.52 million), that Japan is set to start delivering next week.
