America cannot disengage itself from Asia: PM Lee
America cannot disengage itself from Asia, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday, as he sought to make the case for the United States to remain involved in the region.
"Look at North Korea: It is not going to be easily solved, but certainly it will never be solved if you're not there and actively a participant," he said.
Mr Lee was speaking at the start of a dialogue at the Council on Foreign Relations in which he outlined developments in Asia - and said how the US responds to the changing strategic landscape will affect the global balance of power and international order.
The Chinese are influential, growing more so, and need to be accommodated in a stable and constructive way into the regional and global system, he noted. America had opened its markets and deepened its links with the region over the past 75 years. And as it confronts internal pressures to look inward, America has to consider whether it wants to deepen its links or step back, Mr Lee said.
North Korea official says threat of atmospheric nuclear test should be taken 'literally': CNN report
The North Korean foreign minister's recent warning of a possible atmospheric nuclear test over the Pacific Ocean should be taken literally, a senior North Korean official told CNN in an interview aired on Wednesday.
"The foreign minister is very well aware of the intentions of our supreme leader, so I think you should take his words literally," Ri Yong Pil, a senior diplomat in North Korea's Foreign Ministry, told CNN.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said last month Pyongyang may consider conducting "the most powerful detonation" of a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean, amid rising tensions with the United States.
Football: West Ham stun Spurs to reach League Cup quarters, Chelsea beat Everton 2-1
West Ham mounted a stirring comeback on Wednesday, roaring back from two goals down against Tottenham Hotspur to reach the League Cup quarter-finals while Chelsea saw off the challenge of Everton.
Slaven Bilic's side were trailing 2-0 at the break after an insipid first-half display but a brace from Andre Ayew and a third from Angelo Ogbonna shocked the Wembley crowd and completed an astonishing turnaround for the Premier League strugglers.
Spurs, who made multiple changes, were quickly in control thorough an early goal from Moussa Sissoko, who strolled through the middle of the defence and stroked the ball past West Ham goalkeeper Adrian after a pass from Son Heung-Min.
Football: Leicester name Puel as new manager
Former Premier League champions Leicester City on Wednesday named ex-Southampton boss Claude Puel as their new manager following the sacking of Craig Shakespeare last week.
Leicester won the title under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16 but parted company with the Italian in February and despite a good recovery under Shakespeare at the end of last season, they are only a point above the relegation places this term.
Puel, 56, also a former manager of Monaco, Lyon and Nice in France, will take charge of his first game on Sunday when the Foxes host Everton at the King Power Stadium.
Fats Domino, one of rock 'n' roll's first stars, dies aged 89
Fats Domino, who added a touch of rolling New Orleans boogie-woogie piano to early rock 'n' roll in chart-topping hits such as Blueberry Hill and Blue Monday, has died at the age of 89.
Domino, who for a while was mistakenly thought to have been killed when Hurricane Katrina devastated his New Orleans neighbourhood in 2005, died peacefully surrounded by family and friends, according to reports. The cause of death was not immediately clear.
As one of the pioneers of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s, Domino sold 65 million records - more than anyone in that period except Elvis Presley, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
