22 May 2014 Last updated at 08:15
NATIONAL
Urumqi attack kills 31 in China's Xinjiang region
Attackers in China's restive Xinjiang region have crashed two cars into shoppers at a market, killing 31 people, Chinese media reports say.
They also threw explosives during the attack in the regional capital Urumqi. More than 90 people were injured, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The Ministry of Public Security called it a "violent terrorist incident".
Xinjiang, which is home to the Muslim Uighur minority, has seen a spate of attacks in the past year.
Information about incidents in the region, where ethnic tensions between Uighurs and Han Chinese continue, is tightly controlled.
Nigerians call for talks with Boko Haram
Renewed attacks in Nigeria have put a strain on the relationship between the country’s Muslim and Christian communities. Some are now calling on authorities to talk to the Boko Haram militants.
First it was the Christian area in Kano. Then the market in Jos and the villages of Shawa and Alagarno. Once again, authorities suspect that Boko Haram is behind the attack. And many Nigerians fear that the terrorists are trying to create a divide between the already fragile relationship between Muslims and Christians in the country.
Pastor Yohanna Buro, who lives in the north-Nigerian city of Kaduna, has observed the growing fear and enmity in his community. In Kaduna State, the Muslim and Christian communities each make up about 50 percent of the population. "You begin to see a Muslim blaming a Christian of being part of a conspiracy - between the Jews, Christians and the West - against the Hausa-Fulani Muslims in northern Nigeria," says Buro. He therefore calls for the government to engage in talks with Boko Haram.
Thailand: The man behind the coup that's not a coup
May 22, 2014 - 3:12PMLindsay Murdoch
South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media
Bangkok: As life under martial law goes on in the sprawling Thai capital of 10 million people, a testy army general with close ties to the royal palace is hosting meetings of rival political factions that could decide Thailand’s future.
The meetings come at a time of deep anxiety among Thais over the ailing 86-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who - unlike at other critical times in Thailand’s history - has not intervened in a sometimes violent political crisis that has dragged on for six months.
Draconian lese-majeste laws limit discussion of the inevitable royal succession following the king’s passing, which will be a deeply traumatising time for Thailand.
Basement breakout: Budapest's escape games go global
May 22, 2014 -- Updated 0329 GMT (1129 HKT)
Beneath the streets of Budapest, behind the locked door of a brick cellar that smells faintly of mold, four tourists are trying their hardest to break out.
In the room with them are various vehicle parts, a computer and a walkie-talkie, which their captor uses to taunt them as a timer counts down their remaining seconds.
"You can't manage to get out on your own," says Attila Gyurkovics, watching the futile efforts of his four captives via video surveillance.
It may sound like their vacation has gone terribly wrong, but the four have actually paid to be incarcerated and, it seems, they're enjoying themselves.
This is the subterranean world of escape games, a craze that's swept through Budapest.
The games see participants pit their wits against a series of mental and physical challenges in order to gain their freedom in the quickest time possible -- under the watchful eyes of an all-powerful gamesmaster.
Syrian al Qaeda reach foothills of Israeli-held Golan
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi2 hours ago
Atop the hill of Tel Ahmar just a few kilometers from Israeli forces on the Golan Heights, Syrian Islamist fighters hoist the al Qaeda flag and praise their mentor Osama bin Laden.
One of the men, a leader of al Qaeda's Nusra Front, compares their battlefield - a lush agricultural region where dead soldiers lie on the ground near a charred Soviet-era tank - with the struggle their comrades waged years ago in Afghanistan.
"This view reminds us of the lion of the mujahideen, Osama bin Laden, on the mountains of Tora Bora," he can be heard saying in a video posted by the group, which shows the fighters in sight of Israeli jeeps patrolling the fortified frontier.
Kansai Electric appeals court injunction on reactor restarts
NATIONAL
A Japanese utility on Thursday lodged an appeal against a ban on restarting two nuclear reactors, after a court came down on the side of campaigners for the first time since the Fukushima disaster.
The appeal came after the Fukui District Court said Wednesday two reactors at its Oi plant should not be restarted because they pose “specific risks” to residents in the event of a major earthquake.
“It was extremely regrettable that our company’s position could not be understood,” Kansai Electric Power said in a statement.
“During an appeal, our company will continue to stress the safety of the number three and number four reactors at the Oi plant,” the company said.
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