Sri Lanka says Buddhism will remain paramount in new charter
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s prime minister said on Wednesday Buddhism will remain paramount in the bitterly divided island, seeking to head off protests led by the powerful Buddhist clergy against proposed changes to the constitution.
Turkish president says lifting emergency rule currently out of question
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday ruled out an immediate end to the year-old state of emergency imposed after a failed coup, saying it could only be lifted once a fight against terrorism was finished.
London Tower block fire: victim recovery team work under emotional strain
LONDON (Reuters) – A 42-member team working to recover the remains of victims of the Grenfell tower apartment block fire in London are under huge emotional strain as they carry out a fingertip search of the gutted building, one of its leaders said.
Siemens’ Crimea predicament tests limits of EU sanctions
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The delivery of turbines made by the German company Siemens to Crimea shows the limits of policing European Union sanctions on Russia as no EU enforcement authority exists, officials and experts said.
France’s Le Drian to visit Gulf states, seeks to help end Qatar crisis
PARIS (Reuters) – French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on July 15-16 as part of efforts to ease tension between those countries regarding Qatar, his office said in a statem…
Kremlin: Moscow’s patience running out in diplomatic row with U.S
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Wednesday Moscow’s patience was running out in its diplomatic row with the United States that seized Russia’s diplomatic property in the U.S. and expelled Russian diplomats in 2016.
Japan PM’s sagging support dims outlook for revising constitution: MP
TOKYO (Reuters) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cherished goal of revising Japan’s pacifist constitution has become more difficult to achieve after a plunge in his popularity and the erosion of public trust, a ruling party lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Drilling for oil in disputed sea may resume this year: Philippine official
MANILA (Reuters) – Drilling for oil and natural gas on the Reed Bank in the South China Sea may resume before the end of the year, a Philippine energy official said on Wednesday, as the government prepares to offer new blocks to investors in bidding in…
Suicide bombers in northeast Nigeria’s Maiduguri kill 17: police
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Suicide bombers killed 17 people and injured 21 in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the police commissioner of Borno state said on Wednesday.
Iraq strikes Islamic State in Mosul days after declaring victory
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi forces clashed with Islamic State militants holding out in Mosul’s Old City on Wednesday, more than 36 hours after Baghdad declared victory over the jihadists in what they had declared the de facto Iraqi capital of their …
