SUPERPOWERS - AFRICA DAILY

Jan 18, 2013 (UPI)

When the Soviet Union accepted defeat in Afghanistan in 1989 and went home to a crumbling empire, victorious Arab jihadist volunteers went back to their countri...

Mali operation another burden for French budget

Jan 18, 2013 (AFP)

The French offensive in Mali will burden a defence budget that was expected to get relief from the withdrawal of French forces from Afghanistan, but the fightin...

Japan, Vietnam vow to cooperate on regional challenges

Jan 16, 2013 (AFP)

Vietnam and Japan must "play a more active role" in maintaining regional peace and security, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday, in the face of g...

Senate to hold Hagel confirmation hearing Jan 31

Jan 16, 2013 (AFP)

US lawmakers will have their first chance to formally question Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's defense secretary nominee, on January 31 when the Senate co...

Chile's 'Power-opedia' shines light on elites

Jan 16, 2013 (AFP)

Journalists and concerned citizens can now trawl for conflicts of interest among Chile's political and business elites thanks to a new startup based on Wikipedi...

Japan mulling military equipment near disputed isles

Jan 16, 2013 (AFP)

Japan may station military equipment on islands near an archipelago at the centre of a dispute with China, officials said Wednesday, after a number of airborne ...

China to survey islands disputed with Japan: Xinhua

Jan 15, 2013 (AFP)

Beijing is to carry out a geographical survey of islands in the East China Sea, state media said on Tuesday, the latest salvo in an increasingly tense dispute w...

Hagel wins key endorsement for Pentagon job

Jan 15, 2013 (AFP)

US defense secretary-designate Chuck Hagel cleared a key bar to his Senate confirmation Tuesday, winning the backing of a powerful Democrat who had been concern...

China's army told to prepare to fight: state media

Jan 15, 2013 (AFP)

China's armed forces have been instructed to raise their fighting ability in 2013, state media reported Tuesday, amid heightened tensions with Japan over disput...

Japan, US fighter planes in joint drill: official

Jan 15, 2013 (AFP)

US and Japanese fighter jets on Tuesday carried out joint air exercises, an official said, days after Chinese and Japanese military planes shadowed each other n...

Japan boosts defence of disputed islands

Jan 14, 2013 (AFP)

Japan will deploy two more patrol ships to boost its defence of islands at the centre of a territorial row with China and has conducted its first drill simulati...

Walker's World: Putin's sad record

Jan 13, 2013 (UPI)

Mikhail Gorbachev didn't understand the old Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin didn't understand the new Russia. Vladimir Putin understands both and has cold-bloodedly...

Powell defends Hagel as US defense chief pick

Jan 13, 2013 (AFP)

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell defended Chuck Hagel's nomination to become America's next defense chief Sunday, arguing that the ex-senator has the n...

Jackie Chan calls US 'most corrupt' country in the world

Jan 12, 2013 (AFP)

Hong Kong action hero Jackie Chan has once again provoked criticism, this time from an American blogger, after suggesting on Chinese television that the US is t...

China launches fighters amid Japan dispute: state media

Jan 11, 2013 (AFP)

Beijing sent fighter jets to the East China Sea after Japanese aircraft followed a Chinese plane in a territorial dispute, the defence ministry said Friday acco...

Japan PM fires fresh broadside at China in row

Jan 11, 2013 (AFP)

Japan's hawkish new prime minister took aim at Beijing again Friday, accusing China of deliberately allowing Japanese businesses to suffer in the corrosive row ...

China paper says regulation must 'keep pace with times'

Jan 10, 2013 (AFP)

A Chinese newspaper at the centre of protests over censorship said Thursday that Communist Party regulation of the media must "keep pace with the times", in its...

Hong Kong reporters slam bid to curb information

Jan 10, 2013 (AFP)

Journalists in Hong Kong Thursday slammed a government bid to restrict access to information about company directors, after a series of investigative reports in...

Chinese state media mocks government officialese

Jan 10, 2013 (AFP)

Chinese state media turned on the government's own use of language Thursday, mocking a list of "repulsive" official cliches submitted by social media users. The...

Imperial Japan's peaceful legacy in Chinese outpost

Jan 10, 2013 (AFP)

The red sun of the Japanese flag flutters alongside the Chinese emblem's five stars at a business zone in Dalian -- a rare sight in a country still embittered b...