By the time you read this, one of the most important global political events of the next five years — if not longer — will have begun: the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The event may sound obscure to those uninterested in Sinology. It’s not. Beginning on Wednesday and expected to last for about a week, the event ...

Dry conditions and strong winds fueled a deadly outbreak of wildfires in California that quickly tore through thousands of acres of forest and residential neighborhoods, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 100 others. More than a dozen fires broke out across the state on Sunday and Monday and destroyed at least 1,500 structures and scorched nearly 100,000 acres ...

Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen is leading a delegation to visit the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops deployed to Iraq in support of the multinational coalition to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (IS), the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 26). Dr Ng had previously announced in November 2014 that the ...

In a recent speech at the American Enterprise Institute, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Nikki Haley sought to dismantle the political and intellectual firewall that has, for over a decade, thwarted the development of a comprehensive U.S. policy toward Iran. Haley rejected the prevailing notion that Iran’s nuclear activities comprise a special sort of threat that can be addressed in isolation from ...

Beijing: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s call for China to cut off its oil pipeline to North Korea has prompted a fierce rebuke from a high-circulating Chinese newspaper, which accused him of going beyond even Donald Trump. The Global Times, which sells more than one million copies, devoted an editorial to Mr Turnbull’s “indiscreet” and “absurd” comments, and saying Australia was a “second class ...

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Friday that any military solution to the North Korea crisis would be “tragic on an unbelievable scale” and said Washington was working internationally to find a diplomatic solution. “We are going to continue to work the issue,” Mattis told a Pentagon news conference. “If this goes to a military solution, it’s going to be ...

REPORTED BY KALAHAN DENG President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired FBI Director James Comey, sweeping away the man who is responsible for the bureau’s investigation into whether members of his campaign team colluded with Russia in its interference in last year’s election. The bombshell announcement that sent shock and surprise ricocheting through Washington ends the career of the man who ...

KALAHAN DENG Abdalla hears his English teacher’s voice beaming across the room like a ray of sunshine. “What… is… the… matter?” The teacher sounds out each syllable, pausing as photos of injuries flash on a projection screen. If you go to the doctor, she says, these are words you’ll need to know. In this Atlanta classroom, dozens of refugees who ...

KALAHAN DENG Mexico has warned the US against imposing a unilateral tax on Mexican imports to finance a border wall, saying it could respond in kind. Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said the government could place tariffs on selected goods from US states reliant on exports to Mexico. Earlier, US President Donald Trump vowed to start building the wall “soon, way ...

KALAHAN DENG In Australia, Donald Trump’s fiery outburst at its prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has caused  fears about the future of its most important alliance and left the nation wondering  whether it has been demoted to the likes of “Mexico, China and Iran”. The revelation about the extraordinary phone call between the two  leaders dominated headlines in Australia and led ...