Russia, Tajikistan deny any air attack in Afghan border clash

KABUL, Aug 27 (Reuters): Afghanistan officials said on Monday a Tajik or Russian aircraft had bombed a northeastern Afghan border district during a clash between gunmen and Tajik border guards, but officials in both Tajikistan and Russia denied that they had done so.Cross-border clashes are rare on Afghanistan's border with...

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North Korea to release Japanese detainee

SEOUL, Aug 27 (AFP): A Japanese tourist detained in North Korea will be released "on the principle of humanitarianism", Pyongyang's state media reported as Tokyo seeks a summit with the North amid a diplomatic thaw on the peninsula."Tomoyuki Sugimoto, who visited the DPRK as a Japanese tourist recently, was kept...

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Indonesia drops abortion charge against teen

JAMBI, Aug 27 (AFP): A 15-year-old Indonesian girl who was raped by her older brother and then sentenced to jail for having an abortion has been freed, a court spokesman said Monday.The case drew international headlines and was slammed by rights groups, which have frequently criticised the nation's restrictive abortion...

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