Social Democrats name Germany’s new finance and foreign ministers
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, until now Hamburg Mayor, will become Finance Minister and Heiko Maas, until now Justice Minister, will become Foreign Minister in a new coalition government, the SPD’s designated leader Andrea Nahl…
Italy’s 5-Star readies proposals to other parties for government deal
ROME (Reuters) – The leader of Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement said on Friday his party was preparing economic policy proposals for other parties as a way of finding common ground to form a government after Sunday’s inconclusive election.
U.N.’s Zeid says Philippines’ Duterte needs psychiatric evaluation
GENEVA (Reuters) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s slurs against U.N. human rights activists suggest he needs to see a psychiatrist, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein told a news conference on Friday.
In Congo, voting machines raise suspicions among president’s foes
DAKAR/NAIROBI (Reuters) – When election officials unveiled voting machines that resemble large tablet computers in Democratic Republic of Congo, they hailed them as the solution to a multitude of problems.
British interior minister visits scene where Russian double agent collapsed
SALISBURY, England (Reuters) – Britain’s interior minister on Friday visited the scene where a Russian double agent was found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center after being poisoned in a nerve agent attack.
Food aid convoy enters Syria’s eastern Ghouta as assault pauses: ICRC
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An emergency aid convoy crossed front lines into the besieged rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta on Friday, Red Cross officials said, as a war monitor reported a pause in Syrian government air strikes backing a massive ground assault.
Long sought by North Korea, summit holds risks for Trump administration
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For at least two decades, leaders in North Korea have been seeking a personal meeting with an American president.
Indefinite rule for China’s Xi snuffs out activists’ reform hopes
BEIJING (Reuters) – During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first years in office, rights activists tried to remain buoyant despite shrinking opportunities to organize.
Attack on Chinese billionaire exposes growing racial divide in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – A volley of insults hurled by ruling party officials in Malaysia at 94-year-old ethnic-Chinese tycoon, Robert Kuok, has exposed a racial and religious divide ahead of elections due by August.
Trump says North Korea’s Kim promises to give up nuclear weapons, plans first-ever meeting
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in what would be the first face-to-face encounter between the two countries’ leaders and potentially mark a major breakthrough in nuclear te…
