Samsung scion Lee says he did not wield great power at chaebol
SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Group heir Jay Y. Lee denied bribery charges involving ousted South Korean president Park Geun-hye and said he had no knowledge of any pressure from her to pay bribes, as he wrapped up two days of testimony in his corruption …
Beached ship restaurant fuels Gazans’ longing for the sea
GAZA (Reuters) – For decades, Palestinians have dreamed of having their own port on the Mediterranean, from where they could sail the world. Instead, they are making do with a wooden ship run aground on a Gaza beach, which has become a popular restaura…
Kenya police officer killed in militant attack days before election
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Al Shabaab militants attacked a remote police outpost in northern Kenya on Thursday and killed an officer days before national elections, police said.
China ‘coordinating with U.S.’ in South China Sea search for sailor
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday that it was coordinating with the U.S. navy in the search for a missing U.S. sailor in the South China Sea, a rare show of goodwill between the navies in the disputed waters.
Australia charges two with terrorism offences in ‘Islamic-inspired’ plot
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian police on Thursday charged two men with planning a terrorist act, over their role in a foiled “Islamic-inspired” plot to bring down an aeroplane.
Qatar approves law allowing some foreigners permanent residency
DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatar plans to allow some expatriates to obtain permanent residency, state news agency QNA reported, in the first move of its kind among Gulf Arab states that rely heavily on foreign labor.
South African kidnapped by al Qaeda in Mali in 2011 released
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African Stephen McGowan, who was kidnapped by al Qaeda from the Mali tourist town of Timbuktu in 2011, has been released and is back home, foreign minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said on Thursday.
Rouhani gets Iranian supreme leader’s nod as second-term president, faces risks
ANKARA (Reuters) – Hassan Rouhani won the endorsement of Iran’s supreme leader for his second term of president on Thursday after an easy election win, pledging to open Iran to foreign trade and investment but facing internal hardline resistance and re…
China set for easy ride from ASEAN on disputed South China Sea
MANILA (Reuters) – Southeast Asian ministers meeting this week are set to avoid tackling the subject of Beijing’s arming and building of manmade South China Sea islands, preparing to endorse a framework for a code of conduct that is neither binding nor…
Russia announces ‘de-escalation zone’ north of Syria’s city of Homs
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Defence Ministry and Syria’s opposition have agreed to create a new “de-escalation” zone north of the city of Homs, the ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, was shown saying on Russia’s state Rossiya 24 TV channel on Thursd…
