BRUSSELS (AFP) - NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday warned Russia not take any action over Crimea that could stoke tensions or misunderstandings in the Ukraine crisis."I'm concerned about developments in Crimea," Rasmussen said in a tweeted message."I urge Russia not to take any action that can escalate tension or create misunderstanding," he said.Rasmussen's comments were made as the Ukraine interim government called in Moscow's representative in Kiev to warn that Russia must respect i

TOKYO (AP) – Former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said Thursday that the landmark 1995 war apology carrying his name is an international pledge that Japan must not change, amid speculation that the current conservative leaders want to revise it.Murayama said that Japan should also keep another apology over forced prostitution before and during World War II, and urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to stand by both statements. ``Nobody can deny the Murayama statement,'' he said during his

North Korea fired four projectiles believed to be short-range ballistic missiles off its southeast coast Thursday, a South Korean defense ministry official said.The projectiles were fired from the Gitdaeryeong area on the North's southeastern coast toward the waters beginning at 5:42 p.m., the official said. The projectile is believed to have a range of more than 200 kilometers, the official said.South Korea's military has strengthened vigilance against possible provocations, the official said.

SEJONG (Yonhap) -- A bird flu case has been confirmed at a chicken farm in Gyeonggi Province the government said Thursday, a disturbing sign that all-out quarantine efforts are having limited impact.The agriculture ministry said that tests showed a chicken breeding farm in Hwaseong came up positive for the H5 strain of avian influenza (AI) that is sweeping parts of the country. Past cases have been restricted to the Jeolla and Chuncheong region in the country's southwestern region."At present we

TOKYO (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt is staying in Europe following the execution of her husband, Jang Song-thaek, a news report said Thursday.Kim Kyong-hui, a senior party secretary and sister of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, stayed in Switzerland after the North executed Jang in December on charges of treason, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing unidentified sources.The newspaper also said it obtained information that she later moved to Poland where Kim Pyong-i

TORONTO (AP) – Justin Bieber was charged Wednesday with assault for allegedly hitting a Toronto limousine driver several times in the back of the head last month, just hours after his attorney entered a separate not guilty plea in Florida to drunken-driving and other charges.Bieber turned himself in to a Toronto police station, arriving amid a crush of media and screaming fans.  He was charged with one count of assault and is scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on March 10.Police allege Bieb

North Korea showed no signs of unusual military movements on Thursday as it continued its winter military drills, a South Korean military official said."Any unusual movements have not been spotted," the official said.The drills come after the North proposed that the rival Koreas halt "all acts of provoking and slandering" from Jan. 30, a day before the Lunar New Year's Day, a major holiday celebrated by both Koreas.The North has temporarily stopped sending propaganda leaflets through the western

HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets slumped Thursday, extending a global rout on renewed fears about emerging economies after the U.S. Federal Reserve pressed ahead with its stimulus reduction and central banks in Turkey and South Africa jacked up interest rates.The dollar and euro sank against the yen as dealers scurried into safer investments after the Fed decision, while Asian sentiment took a further blow from data showing Chinese manufacturing contracted in January.Tokyo dived 3.33 percent by t

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese manufacturing contracted for the first time in six months in January, HSBC confirmed Thursday, raising questions over growth prospects for the world's second-largest economy this year.The British banking giant's final reading of China's purchasing managers' index (PMI), which tracks manufacturing activity in factories and workshops, fell to 49.5 this month.It was its lowest figure since July and fractionally below the preliminary 49.6 HSBC announced last week.The index is

South Korea's oil consumption fell for the first time in five years in 2013 as the country used more electricity and city gas to meet its heating and miscellaneous energy needs, data showed Thursday.According to numbers provided by the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), petroleum product consumption reached around 826.84 million barrels last year, a 0.1 percent dip from the tally taken for 2012.The KNOC said the last time oil product consumption contracted was in 2008 as the global financial crisi

South Korea said Thursday it plans to donate a sculpture to the Peace Palace in the Netherlands by the end of this year, a move Seoul hopes will help forge cooperative ties with the International Court of Justice.The Palace, located in The Hague, is home to the International Court of Justice, U.N.'s main judicial body, as well as the Permanent Court of Arbitration.South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it has completed consultations with the Carnegie Foundation, which owns the Palace, on the issue.

KINSHASA (AFP) - A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in DR Congo's Katanga province, where rebel violence has destroyed 600 homes over the past three months and displaced 400,000 people, the UN said Wednesday.The head of the world body's MONUSCO mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo admitted that the huge southeastern province had been neglected in recent months."It's a humanitarian catastrophe," Martin Kobler told reporters in Kinshasa, referring to the situation in Katanga, where vio

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama appears to have prevailed, for now, in a campaign to stop Congress from passing new sanctions on Iran he fears could derail nuclear diplomacy.Several Democratic senators who previously backed a bipartisan sanctions bill publicly stepped back after Obama threatened a veto during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.Several sources familiar with behind-the-scenes maneuvering on the bill say a number of other Democratic senators signed up for more sanc

WASHINGTON (AFP) - North Korea appears to be expanding its main launch site to permit more advanced missiles which may eventually be able to reach the United States, a think tank said Wednesday.Analyzing satellite images of the Sohae launch site over the past two months, Johns Hopkins University's US-Korea Institute said North Korea apparently tested a rocket engine needed for its road-mobile KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile.The evidence indicates that North Korea may be preparing "for a