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China will complete a series of controversial land reclamation projects in the South China Sea “soon”, the foreign ministry says. The US and countries with competing claims in the area maintain that China is creating artificial islands to use as military bases. The ministry says they are for defence, but also maritime search and rescue, disaster relief and research. China ...

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group in the Philippines has handed over its first batch of weapons as part of a peace process. The event in Maguindanao, in Mindanao, was attended by President Benigno Aquino who hailed it as an important step forward. Seventy-five weapons will be deactivated as a gesture of MILF’s commitment to peace. In 2012, ...

The main Shia opposition leader in Bahrain, Sheikh Ali Salman, has been jailed for four years for inciting violence, state media say. Sheikh Salman was convicted of inciting hatred, promoting disobedience and “insulting” public institutions. His al-Wefaq movement has accused the Sunni-led government of aggravating the country’s crisis with his sentencing. The Gulf state has grappled with sporadic unrest since ...

“Should I shave my armpit hair?” It is a question that often bothers Xiao Meili, a prominent women’s rights activist in China. “Girls are often anxious about their armpit hair as if it’s a sign of being dirty or uncivilized,” Ms Xiao said. “But we should have the freedom to choose whether to accept what grows naturally on our bodies.” ...

Financial institutions will help EU policing agency spot suspicious transactions that could identify criminal activity. Leading financial institutions in Europe have joined an offensive to fight human trafficking by using data to spot irregular banking transactions that could identify criminal activity, organisers have said. The initiative involving banks and the European Union’s policing agency Europol aims to help financial institutions ...

There must be some truth in between, mustn’t there? Outside North Korea, Kim Jong-un is depicted as a monster. Or a buffoon who sends his goons around to a London hairdresser who dared to poke fun at his haircut. Or a portly playboy with a liking for Swiss cheese, fast cars and faster women. But inside North Korea, he is ...

Country’s PM is under investigation for corruption, but cannot be suspended from office even if found guilty. Romania’s parliament has voted to keep the immunity of the prime minister, who is a suspect in a corruption probe. Lawmakers voted 231-120 against anti-corruption prosecutors’ request to prosecute Victor Ponta. The premier is suspected of corruption charges, including being an accomplice to ...

Opposition fighters take control of a major base that was used by the regime to shell all eastern areas of the province. An umbrella group of opposition fighters have seized the largest army base in the southern province of Deraa – the birthplace of Syria’s four-year uprising – after 24 hours of fighting, a rebel spokesman and monitoring group have ...

Prosecutor wants deadly 2007 car bombing investigated after Al Jazeera airs exclusive interview of al-Qaeda informant. Spain’s top prosecutor has asked police to investigate claims by an al-Qaeda informant that he forewarned Yemeni officials of a 2007 car bomb attack at Yemen’s Balqis Temple that killed 10 people, including eight Spanish tourists. A Spanish police investigation into the claims made ...

Nepali soldiers and police have recovered the bodies of 53 trekkers and villagers buried in avalanches set off by an earthquake in April, and were digging through snow and rocks with shovels and hoes on Monday for signs of more victims. Search and rescue operations had been suspended in the village of Langtang, 60 km (40 miles) north of Kathmandu, ...