International

ROC President Ma Ying-jeou outlined the background, objectives, and important characteristics of his upcoming meeting with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an international news conference Nov. 5. Such a meeting has continually been…

(BBC) Two districts of Japan's capital Tokyo have started issuing certificates recognising same-sex partnerships. They are designed to encourage landlords and hospitals to treat gay couples the same way as married ones. However, the…

(BBC) Many patients who overcame Ebola following the 2014 outbreak are now facing physical and mental health problems, according to survivors groups in Sierra Leone. More than 28,000 cases of Ebola have been reported since the first…

(BBC) Tourists and travellers in Indonesia have been stranded for a third day, as volcanic ash has forced the closure of airports on three islands. Bali's Denpasar airport has been shut since Tuesday after Mount Rinjani on Lombok island…

(BBC) A cargo plane has crashed on take-off near the international airport in South Sudan's capital Juba, killing at least 36 people. South Sudan's transport minister says two people were found alive, but one of them later died. Earlier an…

(BBC) Forensic experts have been sent to the Mexican town of Carrizalillo to examine human remains found in a number of mass graves. The location was disclosed by a member of a drugs gang who was attacked by residents of Carrizalillo. The…

(Mail Online) A young woman has been stoned to death in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan after eloping with a man. A 30-second video shows the woman, known only as Rokhsahana and believed to be aged between 19 and 21, lying in a…

(Aljazeera) Nigeria, Africa - Shell oil company accused of making false claims about extent of clean-up operations and urged to do more for those effected. Shell has been accused of making false claims about the extent of its oil spill…

(BBC) The US has said it plans to return to contested areas of the South China Sea, with a top military commander saying it has conducted similar operations worldwide "for decades". The sailing of a US warship within an area claimed by…

Russian and Egyptian investigators are working to establish why a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai Peninsula and killed all 224 people on board, including 17 children. The plane crashed 23 minutes into its flight from Sharm el-Sheikh…

China has scrapped its one-child policy, allowing all couples to have two children for the first time since draconian family planning rules were introduced more than three decades ago. The announcement followed a four-day Communist party…

Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan was elected on Thursday to serve as the next speaker of the House — a vote that followed weeks of uncertainty and came on the heels of the House passage of a sweeping two-year bipartisan budget deal.…

Allies and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have agreed to renew efforts to end the civil war. The Vienna talks involved Iran, a key Assad ally, for the first time. The ministers agreed to ask the United Nations to start a…

A fugitive accused of shooting a Tennessee police officer and firing at a Kentucky trooper was killed in a shootout with authorities early Friday, ending a nearly week-long manhunt. Floyd Ray Cook, 62, was pronounced dead at the scene in…

A man accused of murdering teenager Becky Watts has told a jury about the moment he killed her. Nathan Matthews admits killing his 16-year-old stepsister but denies murder and conspiring to kidnap her. The 28-year-old told Bristol Crown…