Typhoon survivors in the eastern Philippine city of Tacloban have been flocking to the local airport, hoping to find relief in other cities.

Foreign aid teams are working to provide assistance in the country, with villagers in the rural parts of northern Cebu receiving their first aid delivery more than six days after the disaster.

The UN estimates more than 500-thousand people have been displaced by Typhoon Haiyan.

So far the official death toll sits at around 24-hundred.

 

China, Vietnam agree on framework on joint maritime development

Officials from China and Vietnam have come to an agreement as to how to move forward with consultations on joint maritime development. 

The agreement on the mechanisms behind the talks comes following meetings among border affairs officials with both country's foreign ministries in Hanoi.

The two sides are set to hold a high-level round of border negotiations in the coming weeks.

 

U.S. envoy for North Korea to visit China, South Korea, Japan

The United States' special envoy for North Korea, Glyn Davies, is set to visit China, South Korea and Japan next week.

US State Department says Davies will discuss policy coordination with his East Asian counterparts.

However, the US side is warning this does not mean a resumption of the long-stalled six-party talks.

The US, Japan and South Korea earlier this week agreed not to restart the talks.

 

Obama offers solution for canceled insurance plans due to Obamacare

US President Barack Obama has announced a new plan to deal with another major problem which has been cropping up with Obamacare.

The Obama administration is allowing insurance companies to extend their policies for existing policy holders for an additional year if the current policies were to be neutralized by Obamacare.

The stop-gap solution comes amid word many Americans who have their own health insurance have been informed their policies will be terminated because their plans don't meet the current requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

Obama has insisted that people who like their health care plan would be allowed to keep it.

However, many insurance companies have been scaling back their existing policies because of provisions in the Obamacare act which make them illegal.

At the same time, Obama admits he's not happy with new stats which show that only 106-thousand people have signed up for health insurance through the government's problem-plagued website.

This is far below the government's original target of 500-thousand sign-ups through October.

 

Egypt, Russia vow closer military ties amid US withdrawal of military aid

Russia's Foreign and Defense Ministers have met with top Egyptian officials in Cairo.

The meetings come as Egypt's traditional ally, the United States, has moved to withhold delivery of its annual military aid to Egypt.

Despite the meetings, Russian officials have been quick to dismiss suggestions of a return to Cold-War policies.

The head of the Egyptian army, General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, says the talks with the Russian side have signaled the beginning of a new era when it comes to the military co-operation between the two sides.

 

Iran "significantly" slows down expansion of nuclear facilities: IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency has issued a new report, saying it believes Iran has "significantly slowed down" the expansion of its nuclear programs.

The IAEA report comes following a statement made by US Secretary of State John Kerry this week, urging US senators not to impose new sanctions on Iran.

Kerry has told the Senate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not fully aware of what's been going on in the talks between Iran and world powers.

Kerry has suggested an agreement between Iran and the so-called P5+1 could be reached in the near future.

 

Hamas marks anniversary of Israel's war against Gaza

The armed wing of Hamas has held a large-scale celebration in Gaza City, marking the one-year anniversary of an Israeli military operation against Hamas.

Hundreds of masked militants carrying various weapons have taken to the streets to mark the start of Operation Cloud Pillar.

Addressing the crowds, leadingi Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar has told the crowds Hamas remains determined to continue its armed resistance against Israel.

Operation Cloud Pillar was an 8-day military operation launched by Israel to try to neutralize Hamas fighters.

The operation left 180 Palestinians and 6 Israelis dead.

Israeli forces eventually withdrew from Gaza, which Hamas has touted as a victory.

 

Kyrgyzstan informs U.S. of closure of transit center for Afghanistan

The government of Kyrgyzstan has officially informed the US of its intensions to shut down a US military transit zone at its Manas airfield next year.

Kyrgyz authorities have delivered the official notice to the US embassy in Bishkek.

The transit zone at the Manas base has been used by the US military to launch operations in nearby Afghanistan since 2001.

Kyrgyz authorities had threatened to shut down the transit zone in 2009 before the US finally agreed to pay more rent.

However, President Almazbek Atambayev has maintained a determination to shut down the US base following his re-election in 2011.

His administration has faced a lot of domestic pressure from its predominantly Muslim population about using Kyrgyzstan as a launching-point for raids against Muslim fighters in Afghanistan.

The shuttering of the transit zone in July is largely symbolic, as US and NATO forces are due to withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of next year.