Recent Developments Surrounding the South China Sea and other top stories.

• Recent Developments Surrounding the South China Sea

  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ——— EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest key developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region. ——— SPEAKING AT THE UN, VIETNAM OFFICIAL CALLS FOR RESTRAINT ON SO..

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• Teen surfer stable after shark attack on popular Australian beach

  

  A teenage surfer was in stable condition after he was bitten by a shark Monday at the same Australian beach where a Japanese surfer was fatally mauled last year, officials said. Cooper Allen, a 17-year-old high school student, was surfing with friends on the first day of the students' spring vacation when he was attacked off Ballina's Lighthouse Beach at midmorning, Ballina Mayor David Wright said. The shark struck from behind and bit across the board's fins as the boy lay on the board paddli..

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• Spain: Political Wrangling Continues After Regional Votes

  

  MADRID — Spain's political quagmire showed no signs of being resolved Monday after a regional election gave a small boost to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative Popular Party, but failed to dissipate doubts over whether he can form a new national government.Rajoy has been running a caretaker government for almost a year after two inconclusive elections in December and June. His party won the most seats in both, but lacks enough support in Parliament to form a government.Spain has never..

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• William and Kate travel by seaplane on tour of Canada

  

  Media captionThe Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were greeted by crowds in Vancouver The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have flown by seaplane to Vancouver on the latest leg of an eight-day Canada tour.They made the 30-minute journey from Victoria in a Twin Otter aircraft and were greeted by thousands of people gathered on Vancouver's waterfront.The duke and duchess later met refugees at an immigration centre and went to the Kitsilano coastguard station.It is first time the Cambridges have tou..

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• Mexico missing students: Unanswered questions two years on

  

  Image caption Maricarmen Mendoza still hopes her son, Jorge Anibal Cruz Mendoza, is alive Two years have passed since 43 students went missing on their way to a protest in the Mexican town of Iguala. The violence that night also left three dead and two injured. At the time, their disappearance caused outrage. Protests in Mexico City turned violent. But while many are still angry, the events on the night of 26 September and the early morning of 27 Sept..

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• Calais camp will be completely dismantled, says French president

  

  During a visit to the northern city on Monday, Hollande said France will carry out a "full and final" dismantlement of the camp, where thousands of displaced people live in squalid conditions."From now on our objectives are clear -- to guarantee the security of the people of Calais, maintain public order and ensure for the migrants and refugees conditions are dignified," Hollande said.He said he was in Calais to tell the "desperate immigrants" that they will not remain in the camp because "their..

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• Jordanian writer who shared cartoon mocking ISIS killed outside courthouse

  

  Nahed Hattar, a member of the country's Christian minority, was shot three times outside a courthouse in the capital where charges against him were being heard. Public Security Department personnel, who were near the scene of the attack, rushed Hattar to a nearby hospital, but he died from his injuries, Petra reported.The security forces arrested the attacker and an investigation is underway, Petra reported.Hattar, a political commentator and columnist, was remanded in custody last month after s..

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• The last armed conflict in Latin America is finally ending

  

  These staggering figures will be consigned to history as the Colombian government buries the hatchet with its long-time nemesis, the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebel group, better known by its Spanish acronym, FARC. In a symbolic gesture, the pens that will be used to sign the historic peace deal, years in the making, are made from recycled bullets once used in the conflict. An inscription on the side of the pens reads: "Bullets wrote our past. Education, our future."The two ..

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• Air strikes pound rebel-held Aleppo districts

  

  BEIRUT Dozens of air strikes hit rebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo overnight, a monitor and defense worker said, continuing a fierce air campaign by Syrian government and allied forces since a ceasefire broke down almost a week ago. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of air strikes hit the rebel-held half of the divided city, the target of a fresh offensive announced by the Syrian army on Thursday.Aleppo has become the main battle ground of a conflict no..

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