Chinese authorities have arrested a scholar who helped blind dissident Chen Guangcheng escape house arrest in 2012, the scholar's wife said on Tuesday, in a case that activists say signals a tighter grip on civil liberties.
China has protested to the United States after Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington hoisted a Taiwanese flag on New Year's Day, and urged the United States to respect the "One China" policy, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
For someone nearing 80, President Mahmoud Abbas still knows how to shake things up. But his decision last week to join the International Criminal Court is a high-risk move that may set back the ultimate goal: an independent Palestinian state.
The United States on Monday stood by plans to halve the number of its troops in Afghanistan this year and reduce them further in 2016 following Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's suggestion that President Barack Obama review his deadline.
