Reuters, Amman
Jordan’s King Abdullah, a US ally, will hold talks in Moscow on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on how to tackle “terror groups” led by Islamic State in Syria, an official source said.
Jordan reached an agreement with Moscow last month to ensure Russian bombing of targets in southern Syria, which borders the country, does not target Western backed rebels known as the Southern Front – a grouping it supports as a buffer against the spread of hardline Islamist groups.
SKorea stages war games near sea border
AFP, Seoul
South Korea today staged a major live-fire exercise near the disputed inter-Korean sea border despite North Korea’s warning of possible “merciless” retaliation, military officials said.
The drill was carried out around front-line islands in the Yellow Sea to mark the anniversary of North Korea’s deadly shelling of one of them five years ago, the South’s defence ministry said.
Explosion hits Tokyo war shrine
AFP, Tokyo
A suspected explosive device damaged a bathroom at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on Monday, but no one at the controversial war memorial was hurt, officials and news reports said.
Police received reports of a loud bang and smoke rising near the public bathroom inside the shrine on Monday morning, a spokesman said.
7 killed in Indian copter crash
AP, Srinagar
A helicopter flying pilgrims from a mountain temple dedicated to a Hindu goddess crashed Monday, killing seven people in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.
Police officer Sameer Kotwal said the helicopter caught fire as it hit the ground near its landing site in Katra town.
S’pore Airlines flight from US gets bomb threat
AFP, Singapore
A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from San Francisco via Hong Kong received a bomb threat but arrived without incident in Singapore on Sunday, police said.
Police said in a statement they conducted checks but nothing suspicious was found on the plane or its passengers.
‘Umbrella Soldiers’ take seats in HK polls
AFP, Hong Kong
Young supporters of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, known as ‘Umbrella Soldiers’, took seats in the city’s first vote since mass street protests — but pro-Beijing forces dominated the polls in a key test of public sentiment.
The spotlight was on Sunday’s district elections to gauge whether support for the democracy movement could translate into votes.
While a new generation of pro-democracy campaigners unexpectedly won a handful of seats, the balance of power remained largely the same, thanks to a better-funded and better organised pro-Beijing camp, analysts said.
