Off the wire
• Roundup: S. Korea, U.S. to launch annual military drill on March 2  • Feature: Spring Festival celebrations in Kobe's Chinatown  • Feature: Guinness brands Nepal's 7-year-old as youngest film director  • Chinese FM meets Serbian counterpart  • Truck bombing rocks Afghan capital, kills attacker  • Iron Man-like aircraft maker starts maiden trading in Australia  • News Analysis: Huckabee a Republican front-runner in race to White House, but unlikely to stay there  • UN chief sees Security Council open debate as timely, crucial event  • Albanian doctors defy test  • Portugal to enforce tighter investor visa rules after scandal  
You are here: 　 Home

Xinhua Asia-Pacific News Summary at 0600GMT, Feb. 24

Xinhua, February 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Tony Abbott's decision to link Australia's attempts at rescuing two citizens from death row in Indonesia with foreign aid funding has proved unhelpful.

Last week, as Australia continued to push for clemency bids for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the prime minister suggested Indonesia remembers the country's 780 million U.S. dollar aid contribution towards victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami when it makes its ultimate decision on their fate.(Australia-Indonesia- Death row)

----

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key confirmed on Tuesday that more than 100 New Zealand troops will be sent to Iraq to help in the fight against Islamic State insurgents.

The government had decided to deploy a military training mission to Iraq as part of New Zealand's overall contribution to the international coalition against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Key said in a statement.(New Zealand-IS)

----

KABUL -- A suicide bomber was killed after he set off a truck bomb near a security checkpoint in the outskirts of Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday morning, police said.

No police or civilian were hurt in the blast which occurred at around 7:00 a.m. local time, the spokesman said.(Afghanistan- Bombing) Endi