North Korea sanctions bring nuclear issue to 'critical phase', says China
- United Nations imposes sanctions on Pyongyang over nuclear ambitions
- Chinese and North Korean foreign ministers hold talks
The situation on the Korean peninsula is entering “a very critical phase”, China has warned after new United Nations sanctions targeting Pyongyang were announced following its recent intercontinental ballistic missile test.
Speaking in Manila before a regional security summit, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said the sanctions had been designed “to efficiently, or more efficiently, block North Korea’s nuclear missile development”.
“Sanctions are needed but not the ultimate goal,” Wang added. “The purpose is to pull the peninsula nuclear issue back to the negotiating table, and to seek a final solution to realise the peninsula denuclearisation and long-term stability through negotiations.”
Syria army ‘takes last IS-group held town in Homs’
Syria's army seized the last Islamic State group stronghold in the country's Homs province on Saturday, clearing their path to attack the jihadists in the country's east, a monitor said.
Al-Sukhna, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) northeast of the famed ancient city of Palmyra, is the last town on the road to the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, where a government garrison has held out under IS siege since early 2015.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said government forces had captured the town after heavy army artillery fire and air strikes by government ally Russia.
There was no official confirmation of the capture from Syria's government.
Turkey's Erdogan wants uniforms for coup suspects in court
Suspected coup plotters will wear new almond-colored uniforms before Turkish courts, according to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Previously, Erdogan said he would like the uniforms to be "like in Guantanamo."
Turkish authorities would require the suspects two wear two kinds of uniforms – a brown jumpsuit for "coup plotters" and jackets and trousers in the same color for "terrorists," Erdogan said at a rally in the city of Malatya on Saturday.
"From now on, there is no coming dressed as they want," the Turkish strongman told his supporters at a stadium opening ceremony.
"They will be introduced to the world like that," he added, describing the color of the uniform as "almond."
Facing 'narcotics emergency', Indonesia ramps up war on drugs
Jakarta: Within days of Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordering police to shoot drug dealers who resist arrest, the government last week announced a radical shake-up of the nation's narcotics-riddled prisons.
Amid revelations that prisoners continue to operate drug syndicates behind bars, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has come up with an ambitious plan to consolidate drug felons in four jails across the nation.
According to Corrections data the level of drug activity behind bars in Indonesia is extraordinary: of the nation's 225,000 prisoners there are 54,000 dealers and 32,000 users.Double standard decried as Minnesota mosque bombed
Social media users slam purported double standard of media and government as Muslim worshippers targeted in US state.
Social media users have voiced frustration at what they described as a double standard after a mosque was bombed in the US.
The explosion at around 5am local time (09:00 GMT) at the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, caused damage but did not cause any casualties.
Worshippers had been preparing for the dawn prayer when the attack happened.
There were between 15 and 20 people inside the building at the time, according to Star Tribune, a local newspaper.
Venezuela's chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega rejects dismissal
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Venezuela's chief prosecutor says she was sacked by the new constituent assembly because the government wanted to stop her investigations into alleged corruption and human rights abuses.
Luisa Ortega, a supporter turned critic of President Nicolás Maduro, has rejected her dismissal.
She will face trial for "serious misconduct", the Supreme Court says.
Meanwhile, a leading opposition figure has been returned from prison to house arrest.
Leopoldo López was taken from his home on Tuesday and spent four days in a military jail.
South American regional bloc Mercosur has suspended Venezuela "indefinitely", having previously placed it under a temporary ban. It says the country will not be re-admitted until the constituent assembly is scrapped and all political prisoners are released.
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