Court verdicts show Suu Kyi’s uphill battle on Myanmar land disputes
YANGON (Reuters) – Before entering the courthouse in the capital of eastern Myanmar’s Shan State, Maw Maw Oo said it was ominous that several blue police vans were already waiting in the parking lot.
Kremlin says Russia will never initiate an arms race: RIA
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has never initiated an arms race and never will, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, the RIA news agency reported.
Putin, in letter to Trump this month, sought ‘new level’ of ties: Trump team
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a letter to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump this month, sought bilateral cooperation and a “new level” of U.S.-Russian relations, according to a copy of the letter released by Trump’s team o…
Venezuela’s claim of victim status in bribery case unlikely to convince U.S.
MARACAIBO, Venezuela (Reuters) – A legal strategy switch by Venezuela’s state-owned oil giant PDVSA to portray itself as a victim in a massive bribery scheme detected by the U.S. government is unlikely to lead to compensation and may even backfire.
U.N. council fails to impose arms embargo on South Sudan
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council failed on Friday to adopt a U.S.-drafted resolution to impose an arms embargo and further sanctions on South Sudan despite warnings by U.N. officials of a possible genocide in the world’s n…
French prefer independent Macron to favorite Fillon for president: poll
PARIS (Reuters) – Most French voters including National Front supporters think independent Emmanuel Macron would make a better president than conservative election frontrunner Francois Fillon, an opinion poll showed on Friday.
Exclusive: Chinese education giant helps its students game the SAT
LONDON/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – When the new SAT was given for the first time in March, the owner of the test took unprecedented steps to stop “bad actors” from collecting and circulating material from the all-important college entrance exam.
‘Underground’ Catholics pose challenge for Pope’s hopes of better relations with China
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Every winter Sunday in the Chinese village of Youtong, hundreds of Catholic faithful brave subzero temperatures to meet in a makeshift, tin-roofed church. Tucked away in a back alley in a rural area of Hebei, the province with China’s biggest Catholic community, the gatherings are tolerated – but are illegal in the eyes of the local authorities.
Starry nights and empty streets in Syria’s Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (Reuters) – Stars fill the night sky over the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, and the streets are eerily quiet. The calm might not last much longer.
Philippine police arrest six during massive Manila meth seizure
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine authorities arrested six people and seized $67 million worth of methamphetamine on Friday, in one of the biggest narcotics hauls of a nationwide drugs war that has focused heavily on eliminating street-level dealers.
