South Korea seeks rare talks with North to ease military tensions
Change of protocol in Aceh state follows international media attention after two men were subjected to corporal punishment for violating Sharia prohibition against homosexuality
Fiona Keating
Seoul’s defence ministry wants to reboot moribund diplomacy as Red Cross renews attempts to reunite Korean families
South Korea has offered to hold rare military talks with the North to ease tensions after Pyongyang’s first intercontinental ballistic missile test earlier this month.
Monday’s offer, the first since South Korea elected the moderate Moon Jae-In as president, came as the Red Cross in Seoul proposed a separate meeting to discuss the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean war.
The South’s defence ministry proposed a meeting on Friday at the border truce village of Panmunjom, while the Red Cross offered to hold talks on 1 August at the same venue.
Indonesian province considers carrying out canings in private after public outcry against gay lashings
Change of protocol in Aceh state follows international media attention after two men were subjected to corporal punishment for violating Sharia prohibition against homosexuality
Two months after Indonesia’s most conservative province drew international headlines for publicly caning two young gay men for having sex with each other, the governor is considering making such whippings private to avoid negative news media attention and prevent any adverse impact on outside investment.
The proposed changes in Aceh province have caused a stir in Indonesia ever since local news media reported that President Joko Widodo had met with the newly inaugurated governor, Irwandi Yusuf, to discuss ways to improve the province’s international image.
In an interview with local media, Vice Governor Nova Iriansyah said that because of the international attention on public whippings: “We will minimalise press coverage and conduct it inside prisons. Right now it’s in front of the mosque, right after Friday prayers.”
Scores of Venezuelans vote against Maduro in symbolic poll
Latest update : 2017-07-17
More than 7 million Venezuelans voted in Sunday’s unofficial referendum held by the opposition to heap pressure on President Nicolas Maduro and repudiate his plan to rewrite the OPEC nation’s constitution, monitors said.
The symbolic plebiscite was aimed at denting Maduro’s legitimacy further amid a crippling economic crisis that has left millions struggling to eat and months of anti-government unrest that has killed nearly 100 people.
Opposition leaders hailed it as a success, while also mourning the death of one woman killed by gunmen in Caracas during the voting.
"Today, July 16, dignity won and tyranny lost," said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. "We have given an indisputable mandate for a new Venezuela starting tomorrow."
Guns and money: Why US' top North Korea diplomat is in Southeast Asia
Updated 0755 GMT (1555 HKT) July 17, 2017
When US Ambassador Joseph Yun visits Myanmar this week, he'll likely be trying to convince a longtime military partner of Pyongyang to join US efforts to rein in Kim Jong Un's nuclear efforts.
It's a tough task for the man who made headlines for helping to free American Otto Warmbier from North Korean detention last month.
But the trip, say analysts, is emblematic of a key tactic from the Trump administration: cutting off North Korean revenue, no matter how small or obscure the source.
Yun's first stop was in Singapore for talks at the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue, a multilateral forum for discussing security issues.
UAE arranged hacking of Qatari media: Washington Post
The paper cites US intelligence officials who say UAE orchestrated the hacking of Qatari social media and news sites.
The United Arab Emirates arranged for Qatari government social media and news sites to be hacked in late May in order to post false quotes linked to Qatar's emir, prompting the Qatar-Gulf diplomatic crisis, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing US intelligence officials.
The Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had been falsely quoted in May as praising Hamas and saying that Iran was an "Islamic power," the Post reported. In response, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". Qatar strongly denies the allegations.
Qatar said in late May that hackers had posted fake remarks by the emir, an explanation rejected by Gulf states.
Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame declares he's won election month before it's held
Critics of Kagame accuse him of crushing political opponents before the electionsFiona Keating
The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has claimed a win in next month’s election. He stated that the outcome of the vote was already known in 2015, when a petition to Parliament by 4 million people, changed the constitution, permitting him to run for office once more.
"You can choose not to hear the truth but you cannot deny what your eyes show you here today," he said, according to an ABC News report. "Pretending not to know the will expressed by the people during the referendum would be a lie, not democracy."
The 59-year-old head of RPF-Inkotanyi, the governing party, came to power 23 years ago. He is also backed by nine other political parties.
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