Russia says Kiev’s belligerence forced its observers to quit east Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian military observers had to pull out of a joint ceasefire control group due to Kiev’s determination to solve the crisis in the rebel-held eastern regions of the country by force, a spokesman for Russian Foreign Ministry said on…
Australia police say don’t suspect terrorism after car plows into pedestrians
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – An Australian man of Afghan descent with a history of mental health issues drove a car into Christmas shoppers in the city of Melbourne on Thursday, injuring 19 people, but police said they did not believe the attack was terror-re…
Russian Foreign Ministry says latest U.S. sanctions are ‘grotesque’
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The latest U.S. sanctions imposed on five Russians and Chechens are grotesque and groundless, and Moscow will hit back with tit-for-tat sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
Chinese aircraft drill again in Western Pacific
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese military aircraft have again carried out drills in the Western Pacific, the Xinhua state news agency said on Thursday, with bombers and fighters from a South China Sea naval air arm exercising with warships.
Israel’s Netanyahu calls U.N. ‘house of lies’ ahead of Jerusalem vote
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the United Nations as a “house of lies” ahead of a vote on Thursday on a draft resolution calling on the United States to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Car plows into pedestrians in Australia’s Melbourne, up to 14 hurt
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A car deliberately plowed into pedestrians at a crowded intersection in the Australian city of Melbourne on Thursday, injuring 14 people, police said, adding they had arrested the driver and a second man.
Worries about Malaysia’s ‘Arabisation’ grow as Saudi ties strengthen
Kuala Lumpur (Reuters) – Malaysia’s growing ties to Saudi Arabia – and its puritan Salafi-Wahhabi Islamic doctrines – are coming under new scrutiny as concerns grow over an erosion of traditional religious practices and culture in the multi-ethnic nation.
Shots fired at DMZ as North Korean soldier defects to South
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean guards fired warning shots across the heavily militarized border with North Korea on Thursday as a soldier from the North defected in thick fog, complicating efforts to ease tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile p…
Kremlin: U.S. arms license for Kiev may trigger new bloodshed in east Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The approval by the United States of an export license for Ukraine to buy certain light weapons and small arms from U.S. manufacturers may provoke “hotheads” among Ukrainian nationalists to seek to unleash a new bloodshed in eastern …
Philippine ferry capsizes with 251 on board, four reported dead
MANILA (Reuters) – A Philippine ferry with 251 people on board capsized during bad weather on Thursday off an island near the capital, Manila, a coastguard spokesman said, and media reported four people had been killed and 140 rescued.
