China’s top
diplomat to visit US
AFP, Beijing
China’s top diplomat will visit the United States this week, as the two sides work to arrange a meeting between their presidents after a rocky start to the relationship under the administration of Donald Trump.
State Councillor Yang Jiechi will meet senior American officials on Monday and Tuesday to discuss “bilateral ties and issues of common concern”, the foreign ministry announced late Sunday.
Australia-Indonesia restore full
military ties
AFP, Sydney
Australia and Indonesia announced the full restoration of military ties Sunday as the countries’ leaders held talks following a brief spat over teaching material deemed offensive to Jakarta.
Indonesia had reported the suspension of all military cooperation with Australia from December before clarifying that only language training had been put on hold.
Lankan prison bus shooting kills 7
AFP, Colombo
Attackers opened fire on a prison bus outside Colombo on Monday, killing five prisoners and two armed guards in the worst gang-related violence to hit Sri Lanka in decades.
Gunmen sprayed bullets at the bus as it drove through a wooded area, police said, adding that four guards escaped with gunshot injuries.
The prisoners were being driven to court for a hearing when the audacious daytime attack took place, police said.
Iran tests missiles in naval exercises
AFP, Teheran
Iran’s navy has test-fired the latest versions of the Nasr and Dehlaviyeh missiles during military exercises in the Gulf, local media reported on Monday.
“The latest naval cruise missile called Nasr was test-fired during Velayat 95 naval manoeuvres in the southern waters of the country,” said Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan, according to the Fars news agency, adding that the missile had successfully hit its target.
Tasnim news agency said the Dehlaviyeh, a laser-guided missile, had also been successfully tested.
