More than 2,000 workers flee Thailand after labor crackdown
BANGKOK (Reuters) – More than 2,000 undocumented migrant workers from Myanmar and Cambodia fled from Thailand this week, officials said on Friday, after a decree aimed at managing foreign workers came into effect.
Iraqi forces close in on IS redoubt in Mosul after declaring end of caliphate
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Iraqi forces attacked Islamic State’s remaining redoubt in Mosul’s Old City on Friday, a day after hailing the end of the insurgents’ self-declared caliphate with the capture of an historic mosque that symbolized the…
New conflicts threaten Syria after Islamic State defeat
RAQQA, Syria/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sheen Ibrahim’s track record fighting ultra-hardline militants explains U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy of arming Syrian Kurds like her as he seeks to eradicate Islamic State. It also highlights the risks.
‘Sing the motherland’: China tightens rules for online content
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China laid out rules on Friday for online content from television dramas to cartoons and “micromovies”, formalizing and tightening the steps censors should take when vetting material under a tough crackdown across media and enterta…
U.S. likely to bar Japan investigators from interviewing warship crew, official says
TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States will likely bar Japanese investigators from interviewing USS Fitzgerald crew manning the guided missile destroyer when it was struck by a cargo ship in Japanese waters killing seven American sailors, a U.S. navy offi…
German lawmakers approve same-sex marriage in landmark vote
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s parliament backed the legalization of same-sex marriage on Friday in a historic vote hailed by gay activists and leftist parties but criticized by some in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling conservative bloc and by the Catho…
Australia ex-foreign minister turned China academic rebukes Beijing critic
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A former Australian foreign minister who runs a university think tank set up with funding from a Chinese tycoon wrote to the school’s vice chancellor complaining about a fellow academic and vocal Beijing critic who spoke out against …
Five suicide bombers attack Lebanese army during raids
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Five suicide bombers attacked Lebanese soldiers as they raided two Syrian refugee camps in the Arsal area at the border with Syria on Friday and a sixth militant threw a hand grenade at a patrol, the army said.
Japan considers detaining some asylum seekers to curb abuse of refugee system
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is considering detaining some asylum seekers once their visas expire in an attempt to curb what it calls an abuse of its refugee system, drawing criticism from lawyers who say such measures risk causing humanitarian harm.
Protests, policy rows, volatile leaders — welcome to the Hamburg G20 summit
HAMBURG (Reuters) – Summits of world leaders are usually highly choreographed affairs that leave little to chance.
