Philippines’ Maoists declare traditional Christmas truce
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine Maoist rebels declared a traditional Christmas truce on Friday after the government announced the same, calling off hostilities for six days.
Australian police seize record A$1 billion methamphetamine haul
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police said on Friday they had seized a record 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine with a street value of more than A$1 billion ($771 million) after a raid in a remote area of the west Australian coast.
South Korea weighs support for tougher sanctions on North as it seeks Olympics peace
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean officials signaled support for a U.S.-drafted U.N. resolution designed to toughen sanctions on North Korea, even as Seoul seeks to delay joint military exercises with the United States to attract the North to the 2018 Win…
China considers punishing those who slander heroes and martyrs
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is considering a law punishing those who slander heroes and martyrs or cause physical damage to their memorials, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, the latest piece of legislation to protect the country’s symbols of stat…
South Korean city cancels Olympics celebration as it mourns blaze victims
SEOUL (Reuters) – The small South Korean city of Jecheon was reeling Friday, a day after a fire ripped through an eight-storey building, killing at least 29 people, mostly women trapped in a sauna, on what should have been a day of celebration ahead of…
After Reuters arrests, some Myanmar reporters fear ‘it could’ve been me’
YANGON (Reuters) – Some human rights advocates say press freedom is under attack in Myanmar, even though decades of rule by a junta that tightly controlled the media has given way to a government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kansai Electric to scrap two reactors in latest blow for Japan’s nuclear sector
TOKYO (Reuters) – Kansai Electric Power Co said on Friday it will decommission two 38-year-old reactors at its Ohi nuclear plant as Japan’s electricity industry struggles to cope with new safety standards imposed after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Peru president defeats bid to oust him by eight votes in Congress
LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pulled off a surprise victory against the opposition’s bid to force him from power as a graft scandal rocks Latin America, with a motion in Congress falling eight votes short of the 87 needed to…
Japan approves record defense spending that favors U.S.-made equipment
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government approved a record military budget on Friday but did not earmark enough extra money to stop a splurge on U.S.-made ballistic missile defense kit from putting a squeeze on funding for an ambitious domestic jet fighter…
Australian PM says nine foreigners among those hurt when driver plows into crowd
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Nearly half the 19 people injured when a driver with no known extremist links plowed into pedestrians in the southern city of Melbourne were foreign nationals, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday.
