Plans for stronger Turkish presidency pass first hurdle
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will be able to appoint and dismiss government ministers, take back the leadership of the ruling party, and govern until 2029 under plans approved by a parliamentary commission on Friday.
UN envoy sees ‘historic opportunity’ for Cyprus reunification in 2017
NICOSIA (Reuters) – A senior United Nations official says ethnically-split Cyprus has a “historic opportunity” to reunite in 2017 and a meeting in Geneva in early January will be crucial for a peace deal that has eluded the island for decades.
China to prosecute former senior spy catcher for graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will prosecute one its former spy chiefs after accusing him of bribery and abusing his power to interfere in law enforcement, the ruling Communist Party said on Friday.
How ties to an ‘equestrian princess’ landed Samsung at center of a scandal
SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co’s sponsorship of the equestrian-athlete daughter of a long-time friend of President Park Geun-hye has helped to land South Korea’s top company in the center of the country’s influence-peddling scandal.
EU’s Schulz gives up run at German chancellery – Spiegel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Martin Schulz, the European Parliament president who is returning to German politics, does not expect to run as the Social Democrats’ (SPD) candidate for chancellor next year, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday.
Malaysian NGOs plan to send aid flotilla to help Rohingyas in Myanmar
KUALA LUMPUR/YANGON (Reuters) – An aid flotilla carrying food and emergency supplies for Rohingya Muslims will sail from Malaysia for Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine State next month, the Malaysian organizer said on Friday.
Five killed, many trapped in Indian coal mine collapse – police
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) – At least five Indian miners were killed and nearly two dozen trapped when mine waste collapsed at a mine run by state-owned Coal India Limited, police said on Friday.
Duterte delegates Philippines into economic sweet spot but misgivings rising
MANILA (Reuters) – After six months at the helm in the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte has been touting just two achievements of his presidency – a vicious war on drugs and a surprise alliance with his country’s bitter rival, China.
Cubans surf the web at home in Havana pilot project
HAVANA (Reuters) – Downtown Havana resident Margarita Marquez says she received a special Christmas gift this year: web access at home, a rarity in a country with one of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world.
China official dealing with Taiwan accused of bribery
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state prosecutor on Friday formally accused a former deputy head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office with bribery and abuse of power, setting the stage for his trial.
