Taiwan wargames against China attackAFP, Hsinchu Taiwan on Thursday staged a live-fire anti-landing drill simulating an invasion by China as President Ma Ying-jeou pledged to maintain a battle-ready force while seeking peace with the island’s giant neighbour.The exercise, presided over by Ma, was part of this year’s annual military wargames codenamed “Han Kuang 31″ (Han Glory) designed to test how Taiwan’s armed forces would repel an attack from China.”Although cross-Strait ties are the most stable over the past 66 years, the Republic of China (Taiwan) has by no means slackened its military preparedness,” Ma told around 800 servicemen involved in the drill at a gathering in a military base in the northern Hsinchu county.Bomb suspect bribed his way into ThailandAFP, Bangkok A key suspect in last month’s deadly Bangkok blast paid a $600 bribe to illegally enter Thailand, police said Thursday, highlighting widespread corruption at the kingdom’s borders.Adem Karadag, one of two foreigners arrested in connection with the August 17 attack, was detained at a flat in eastern Bangkok late last month.Police say he was found in possession of bomb-making paraphernalia and dozens of fake Turkish passports.Karadag’s role has not been explained by police, but say they now know more about how he came to be in Thailand.EU-Cuba talks turn to delicate issuesAFP, Havana The European Union and Cuba opened a new round of talks on normalizing ties Wednesday in Havana, taking on the sensitive subjects of politics and human rights.Cuban state media said the two sides were expected to “conclude negotiations on cooperation and trade and open discussions on political dialogue” during the two-day talks.The EU suspended relations with Cuba in 2003 over a crackdown on journalists and activists.It began talks on restoring them in April 2014, aiming to persuade Havana to improve its rights record.’Moderate imam’ shot dead in RussiaAFP, MoscowA local imam in Russia’s North Caucasus was shot dead on Wednesday, the latest murder of a religious leader in an area known for simmering Islamist insurgency.Magomed Khidirov, a 34-year-old imam in the village of Kurush in the region of Dagestan bordering Chechnya, was shot dead at 4 am (0100 GMT) by two men as he headed to morning prayers, Russian investigators said.3 brothers stabbed to death in USAP, Los Angeles A father repeatedly stabbed his three young sons to death with a knife in the back seat of their car outside a South Los Angeles elementary school Wednesday before it’s believed he turned the blade on himself, police said.The father, said to be in his 30s, was found in his car bleeding from stab wounds to the chest, his dead sons in the back and a knife in the passenger seat.
