Vietnam

China has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the disputed islands it controls in the South China Sea, Taiwan and U.S. officials said, while Chinese FM Wang Yi on Feb. 17 sought to downplay reports that China had positioned anti-aircraft missiles.

Santorini is among the 10 most popular destinations for couples, according to Travel Smart survey of global hotel reservation platform, Agoda (property of the Priceline Group).

The research is based on millions of bookings and reviews on Agoda taken from couples and singles.

Santorini ranked fifth in list of the most attractive destination for couples in the world.

The Bulgarian Black Sea resorts of Sunny Beach and Golden Sands rank among the ten cheapest destinations for Russian tourists this year.

This was announced by travel.ru based on a ranking conducted by online hotel booking platform oktogo.ru.

The ranking is based on hotel offers available during the period between February 1 and December 31.

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou defended his visit to a disputed island in the South China Sea on Jan. 28 despite criticism from the United States and protests from the other claimants as tensions swirl in the region.

The best hotels for 2016 were presented by TripAdvisor on Thursday based on six criteria ranked by guests (sleep quality, location, rooms, service, price, cleanliness).

Czech Republic President Milos Zeman, known for his staunchly anti-migrant stance, has said that the Muslim community cannot be integrated into the European society.

Iraq has extended a ban on imports of frozen and live poultry products to cover two dozen countries, including China and South Africa, the government said on Jan. 10.

Baghdad last month restricted poultry imports from France, where an outbreak of avian flu has been reported. 

Turkey has been named the best place to site manufacturing plants in Europe, ranking eighth in the world in a fresh report from property consultant Cushman & Wakefield. 

China has lost its top position in the world to Malaysia due to a rise in labor costs, according to the report, titled "Where in the World? Manufacturing Index 2015." 

Bulgaria proved in 2015 that it is defending its national interest in spite of "activization of terrorist activity, increased migratory pressure and hybrid influence of third countries", Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said Thursday.

His comment was a clear reference to the notion of "hybrid war" which some Bulgarian politicians accuse Russia of waging in Eastern Europe.

Did you see that photograph? It was not from Vietnam and the people in the photograph were not Vietnamese trying to escape American soldiers. Nor were they Turkish Cypriots running away from the Nikos Sampson-led Greek Cypriot hordes paid by Athens to annex the island to Greece. They were Turkish citizens trying to escape from a curfew to be imposed on their town within hours?