Singapore helps migrant workers track income after reports of unpaid wages
(Reuters) – Singapore will help migrant workers set up bank accounts to ensure wages are paid after a report by a support group found some employers skipped town without paying their workers.
Iran will withdraw from nuclear deal if there is no economic benefit, deputy minister says
LONDON (Reuters) – Iran will withdraw from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal if there is no economic benefit from it and major banks continue to fail to do business with the Islamic Republic, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday….
China probes report of possible North Korea sanctions breach at sea
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday it is investigating a Japanese report that a Chinese ship may have carried out a ship-to-ship transfer with a North Korean vessel in breach of U.N. sanctions.
Man throws grenade at U.S. embassy in Montenegro, then blows himself up
PODGORICA (Reuters) – An unidentified man threw an explosive device, probably a hand grenade, at the U.S. embassy building in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, around midnight before blowing himself up, the government said on Thursday.
North Korean closing Olympics delegation includes man blamed for deadly sinking
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea will send a high-level delegation to South Korea for the Winter Olympics closing ceremony, officials said on Thursday, including the man blamed for the 2010 sinking of a South Korean navy ship that killed 46 sailors.
Iraq says handed over four women, 27 children suspected of Islamic State ties to Russia: Iraqi local tv
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq has handed over to Russia four women and 27 children suspected of having ties to the Islamic State militant group, local television broadcaster Al-Sumaria quoted the foreign ministry as saying on Thursday.
Strikes hit Syria’s Ghouta for fifth day as U.N. pleads for ceasefire
AMMAN (Reuters) – Warplanes pounded the last rebel enclave near the Syrian capital for a fifth straight day on Thursday, as the United Nations pleaded for a halt to one of the fiercest air assaults of the seven-year civil war.
U.N. envoy sees difficult talks on Syria ceasefire deal
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday he hoped the U.N. Security Council would agree a resolution to end fighting in the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta, but said it would not be easy.
Merkel calls for Europe to step up to global challenges
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday the European Union needed to develop a response to growing global political and economic pressures and that this would be the spirit of an EU summit this week.
French police clear nuclear waste protest site in pre-dawn swoop
PARIS (Reuters) – French police launched a surprise operation at dawn on Thursday to evict protesters from a site earmarked for storage of nuclear waste in the Bure area of eastern France.
