ASEAN and China reach agreement on South China Seas: The 10
ASEAN and China reach agreement on South China Seas: The 10
members of ASEAN and China have made a major political
breakthrough to prevent an escalation of tensions in the disputed
South China Seas, officials said Friday. Chem Widhya, spokesman
for the Cambodian foreign ministry, said all members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China had
reached a draft agreement on conduct in the region after marathon
meetings. --AFP
New "strong" quake hits south-central Italy: A fresh strong
tremor rocked south-central Italy on Friday, shaking lamp posts
and sparking panic in a town where at least 29 people were killed
after an earthquake hit on Thursday. Witnesses said the latest,
long-lasting tremor shook the whole town, sending fresh rubble
tumbling from buildings, although there were no initial reports
of injuries. Witnesses said terrified residents ran into the
streets screaming, and many jumped in their cars to flee,
blocking ambulances trying to get into town. --Reuters
Security measures focus of Sri Lanka peace talks: Sri Lankan
government and Tamil Tiger rebels ended a second day of peace
talks to end two decades of war on Friday by agreeing to boost
security measures in the volatile east of the island. The
negotiations at a palm-lined resort west of the Thai capital,
Bangkok, went ahead smoothly even though there had been worries
because a Colombo court on Thursday had sentenced the leader of
the rebels, in absentia, to 200 years in jail. --Reuters
Rockets land near U.S. bases in Afghanistan: Six rockets landed
near American positions in southeastern Afghanistan early on
Friday but caused no casualties, the U.S. military said. A
military statement said two A-10 ground attack aircraft were
scrambled from Bagram Air Base north of Kabul after three rockets
landed about one kilometer from a special forces base at Gardez,
capital of Paktia province, between midnight and one a.m. It said
another rocket landed at the airfield of a U.S. forward
operations base in nearby Khost at 12.20 a.m. then two more
within 10 minutes of each other at about 4 a.m. --Reuters