EPECUEN, Argentina (AP) — A strange ghost town that spent a quarter century under water is coming up for air again in the Argentine farmlands southwest of Buenos Aires.
Epecuen was once a bustling little lakeside resort, where 1,500 people served 20,000 tourists a season. During Argentina's golden age, the same trains that carried grain to the outside world brought visitors from the capital to relax in Epecuen's saltwater baths and spas.
The...
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine coast guard has become the latest incident to roil tensions over territorial disputes in and around the South China Sea, with Taipei calling Friday for Manila to apologize for the shooting.
Taiwan said that the Philippine Coast Guard opened fire Thursday on a 65-year-old fisherman in waters claimed by both governments. The Philippines acknowledged the Taiwanese claim, but said its...
BANGKOK (AP) — The price of oil fell below $96 per barrel on Friday after signs of improvement in U.S. employment sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve might scale back its aggressive monetary policy.
Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 73 cents to $95.66 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contact lost 23 cents to finish at $96.39 a barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.
...
BEIJING (AP) — China and India need to work harder to avoid flare-ups along their disputed border and resolve those that do happen more quickly, India's top diplomat said Friday.
On the second day of a visit to Beijing, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid praised the relatively smooth resolution of a three-week standoff between border troops from either side that ended Monday.
But in an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Khurshid...
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel made a surprise visit Friday to northern Afghanistan to visit her troops less than two weeks after insurgents killed a German special forces soldier and wounded a second, a military spokesman said.
Germany is the only NATO nation that has so far committed troops to Afghanistan after the coalition completes its scheduled pullout of combat forces next year. The U.S. is likely to deploy several thousand troops if...
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine foreign secretary said Friday that he has recommended President Benigno Aquino III pull out all Filipino U.N. peacekeepers from the Golan Heights following the abduction of four by Syrian rebels, the second such incident in two months.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the government believes the exposure of the country's 342 peacekeepers "is beyond tolerable limits."
Aquino will have the final say in...
LONDON (AP) — Japanese stocks outperformed all others by a wide margin Friday after the dollar finally broke through the 100 yen mark. Markets elsewhere remained solid at the end of the week that's sent many indexes around the world up to all-time highs.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo jumped 2.9 percent to close at 14,607.54, its highest level since January 2008, after the dollar traded above 100 yen for the first time in more than four years — a lower currency...
TOKYO (AP) — The dollar soared above 100 yen for the first time in more than four years Friday, driven by aggressive credit-easing aimed at reviving Japan's sluggish economy and improved U.S. economic figures.
The U.S. dollar rose as high as 101.30 yen, the first time since April 2009 that the greenback has traded above 100 yen. The move lifted Japanese stocks to their highest level in more than five years.
The weaker yen is a boon to Japan's major...
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says a summit between the U.S. and South Korean presidents is a prelude to war against the North.
A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea on Friday called President Park Geun-hye's otherwise widely praised visit to Washington a "despicable sycophantic trip to please her master."
President Barack Obama and Park warned Pyongyang on Tuesday against nuclear provocations. Pyongyang...
MAJURO, Marshall Islands (AP) — About 6,000 people who live on the remote northern atolls of the Marshall Islands are facing an acute shortage of fresh water as a severe drought worsens.
The Pacific archipelago this week declared a state of disaster in its north. Australia announced it would provide 100,000 Australian dollars ($101,000) for the emergency supply of desalination units. The U.S. has also donated several reverse-osmosis machines, which covert salt water into...
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