North Korea defector regains consciousness, video shows getaway under fire
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean border guards were only steps behind a fellow North Korean soldier when they opened fire and one briefly crossed the border pursuing the wounded defector as he dashed to the South Korean side, a video released on Wednesda…
Philippines set to keep open pit mining ban as Duterte rejects call to lift it
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine environment minister said on Wednesday that a ban on new open pit mining in the country would remain in place, with President Rodrigo Duterte rejecting government panel recommendations to reverse it.
Italy’s Berlusconi contests ban from office to European court
ROME (Reuters) – Lawyers for Silvio Berlusconi will argue on Wednesday to the European Court of Human Rights against his ban on holding public office, hoping for a green light that will allow him to run for premier at Italy’s election early next year.
Australia defends alternative accommodation for asylum seekers against U.N. criticism
SYDNEY/GENEVA (Reuters) – Australia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that asylum seekers occupying an abandoned Australian-run detention camp in Papua New Guinea (PNG) can relocate to alternative accommodation, challenging United Nations claims tha…
Ex-Bosnian Serb commander Mladic faces verdict in genocide trial
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The U.N. tribunal on war crimes in former Yugoslavia hands down its verdict on Wednesday in the genocide trial of Ratko Mladic, the ex-Bosnian Serb general accused of ordering the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenic…
Half of Germans want new elections after coalition talks fail
BERLIN (Reuters) – Half of Germans are in favor of calling a new election after Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to reach a deal to form a new coalition with two other parties, while a fifth back forming a minority government, an opinion poll showed on …
Canada proposes health warnings, child-proof packs for legal pot sales
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government proposed on Tuesday mandatory health warnings and child-proof packaging as well as a licensing regime for all cannabis products in legislation ahead of the July 2018 legalization of recreational marijuana.
Hariri returns to Lebanon for first time since resigning as PM
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Saad al-Hariri landed in Beirut on Tuesday, his media office said, returning home for the first time since he resigned as Lebanon’s prime minister in a broadcast from Saudi Arabia and plunged his country into political crisis,
Trump, Putin discuss support for U.N. peace process in Syria: White House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the U.N.-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement.
Colombia protests Venezuelan military crossing border
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia sent a letter to the Venezuelan foreign ministry on Tuesday protesting the incursion of a military helicopter and troops from that nation over the border, the latest in a series of similar incidents that have drawn criticism…
