US removing some missile systems from ME
Reuters
The United States is pulling some of its anti-aircraft and missile batteries out of the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. military officials.
The Pentagon will pull out four Patriot missile systems from Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain next month, the report said, adding that the realignment step marks a shift of focus away from long-lasting conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan to tensions with China, Russia and Iran.
Erdogan to meet Merkel this week
AFP, Frankfurt am Main
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a state visit to Germany this week as the two countries seek to rebuild ties after a series of sharp spats but the controversial trip is likely to be overshadowed by protests.
It will be Erdogan’s first official visit to Germany since becoming president in 2014, and follows a prolonged bout of tensions sparked by Berlin’s criticism of his crackdown on opponents in the wake of a failed 2016 coup.
US arrests Chinese national on spying charge
AFP, Chicago
A Chinese national who came to the US on a student visa and later enlisted in the army reserves was arrested Tuesday in Chicago and accused of helping Beijing attempt to recruit American scientists and engineers.
Ji Chaoqun was allegedly tasked with providing Chinese intelligence with biographical information about eight American citizens-some of whom were US defense contractors.
Germany, S Arabia to restore envoys
AFP, United Nations
Germany and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday agreed to return ambassadors some 10 months after the kingdom fumed over criticism about its role in Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia, which has increasingly challenged Western governments who speak out on its record, in November recalled its ambassador from Berlin following the eyebrow-raising resignation of Saad Hariri as Lebanon’s prime minister while visiting Riyadh.
At least 12 dead in Mali attack
AFP, Bamako
At least 12 Tuareg civilians died Tuesday in an attack in eastern Mali, a region hit by chronic unrest between local tribes and jihadist militants, sources said.
About 200 people, many of them civilians from the Fulani and Tuareg tribes, have been killed in the area this year.
Militants claiming allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) have been clashing with local groups backing a French security force and the Malian army.
2 killed in Delhi building collapse
Xinhua, New Delhi
At least two children were killed and seven people injured in a residential building collapse in India’s capital New Delhi on Wednesday, officials said.
The mishap occurred in northern Delhi’s Ashok Vihar area. “The three-storeyed residential building caved in this morning. While two children were buried alive under the debris, seven people have been pulled out,” a local civic official said.
