US admits to having killed Americans in drone strikes

US President Barack Obama’s administration acknowledged publicly for the first time that four US citizens have been killed in drone strikes since 2009 in Pakistan and Yemen. The disclosure comes on the eve of a major national security speech by Obama in which he wasFULL STORY

Iran expanding nuclear weapon program: IAEA

Iran is making significant progress in expanding its nuclear program, including in opening up a potential second route to developing the bomb, a new UN atomic agency report showed on Wednesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest quarterly update said Tehran had accelerated the installationFULL STORY

Japanese octogenarian is oldest to summit Everest

An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer became the oldest person to reach the top of Mount Everest yesterday — although his record may last only a few days. An 81-year-old Nepalese man, who held the previous record, plans his own ascent next week. Yuichiro Miura, who also conqueredFULL STORY

Myanmar’s ‘goldrush’ lures foreigners

From seasoned investors to recent graduates armed with little more than hastily made business cards and dreams of striking it rich, foreigners are pouring into Myanmar to stake a claim as it opens up. It is an expat “goldrush” driven by the promise of an economicFULL STORY

Nations to boost aid to Syria rebels until al-Assad goes

World powers urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to commit to peace, but warned yesterday that if he fails to negotiate a political transition, they would boost their backing of the opposition. The stark warning came from a meeting of the Friends of Syria group, which heldFULL STORY

IMF’s Lagarde appears in court over payout scandal

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde arrived in court yesterday to be questioned by a French magistrate over her role in a 285 million euro (US$366 million) arbitration payment made to a supporter of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Lagarde risks being placed under formal investigation atFULL STORY

FEATURE: From opera to drills, US-China ties deepen

Even as the US accuses China of military espionage and worries about Beijing’s more strident posture in the Asia-Pacific region, the ties between the armed forces of the two nations have been getting closer. Direct contact between China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and some of itsFULL STORY

IRS unit head refuses to testify on targeting abuse

The head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office that oversees non-profit groups refused to testify on Wednesday at a congressional panel probing abuse at the US tax agency, but defiantly declared she had done nothing wrong. Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations, invoked her FifthFULL STORY

Man killed by FBI links triple murder to Boston bomber

A friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev implicated himself and the Boston bombing suspect in an unsolved triple homicide before FBI agents killed him in a violent altercation on Wednesday, local media reported. The FBI said the man initiated a “violent confrontation” during questioning in Orlando, Florida, andFULL STORY

World News Quick Take

MALAYSIA Student charged with sedition A court yesterday charged a student activist with sedition and three others, including two opposition politicians, were arrested on the same charge in what critics decried as a crackdown on dissent. Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged last year to repeal the SeditionFULL STORY

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