Ayatollah Khamenei criticizes Iran’s president on economy ahead of vote
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran’s president must do more to improve the economy, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday in a rare public criticism from the supreme leader three months before Hassan Rouhani runs for re-election.
Former Myanmar armyman suspected in killing of lawyer: president’s office
YANGON (Reuters) – The office of Myanmar’s civilian president on Wednesday said a former military officer is suspected to have hired the killer of a prominent lawyer advising Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling party, in a likely bid to destabiliz…
Election in Indonesian capital heads for run-off after tense campaign
JAKARTA (Reuters) – The race to become governor of Indonesia’s capital was heading for a second round between the incumbent Christian and a Muslim former education minister after neither appeared to win a majority in a Wednesday election.
U.N. Syria talks to follow agenda set by U.N. resolution: envoy
ROME (Reuters) – The agenda of Syrian peace talks due to begin in Geneva next week will be line with a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ending the conflict and will not be changed, U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Wednesday.
Anti-Islam Wilders frontrunner as Dutch election campaign begins
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Campaigning for the Dutch election began on Wednesday with anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders frontrunner in a vote that will test the anti-establishment sentiment that swept Britain out of the European Union and Donald Trump into th…
Afghanistan gunmen kidnap 52 farmers, regional officials say
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Gunmen in Afghanistan kidnapped 52 farmers on Wednesday, most of them members of the minority Uzbek community in the remote northern province of Jowzjan, regional officials said, but the motive for the abductions…
Iran president eyes better ties with Gulf Arabs during trip
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country sought good relations with its Gulf Arab neighbors as he began a one-day trip to Oman and Kuwait on Wednesday, his first since taking power in 2013.
Russia tells White House it will not return Crimea to Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday it would not hand back Crimea to Ukraine or discuss the matter with foreign partners after the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump expected the annexed Black Sea peninsula to be returned.
China warns U.S. against fresh naval patrols in South China Sea
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned Washington against challenging its sovereignty, responding to reports the United States was planning fresh naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea.
Kremlin denies allegations it violated U.S. missile treaty
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is committed to honoring its international obligations, including in relation to missiles, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, responding to reports it had violated a treaty with the United States by deploying a new ground-based mi…
