Exclusive: China installs weapons systems on artificial islands – U.S. think tank
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China appears to have installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven of the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, a U.S. think tank reported on Wednesday, citing new satellite …
Venezuela tries to crash Mercosur talks, says minister ‘thrown to ground’
BUENOS AIRES/CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said his foreign minister was “thrown to the ground” by Argentine authorities on Wednesday after attempting to crash a Mercosur trade bloc meeting in Buenos Aires, following Venezuela…
Trump Hotels pulls out of Rio hotel named in criminal probe
BRASILIA (Reuters) – The Trump Organization Inc said on Wednesday it has pulled out of a hotel venture in Rio de Janeiro that is part of a criminal investigation in Brazil, with a Trump Hotels spokeswoman citing construction delays and differences in v…
‘Iron Lady’ Thatcher tops female power list ahead of Beyonce, Bridget Jones
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the “Iron Lady” for her steely resolve, topped a list of females who have had the biggest impact on women’s lives over the past 70 years, the BBC said on Wedn…
NZ to spend around $1.4 billion on rebuilding key transport links after quake
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s government said on Thursday it would spend around NZ$2 billion ($1.42 billion) rebuilding road and railway links to the tourist resort of Kaikoura, after the South Island’s main transport artery was wiped out in a d…
South Korea’s powerful business lobby group dealt big blow by Park scandal
SEOUL (Reuters) – Long the voice of the conglomerates that form the engine of South Korea’s economy, the Federation of Korean Industries could become another casualty of the scandal that is poised to cost President Park Geun-hye her job, as key members…
U.S. may target weapons seized by Islamic State in Palmyra
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of U.S. forces fighting Islamic State said on Wednesday the United States may target weapons seized by the group when it captured the Syrian city of Palmyra, adding the equipment posed a danger to the U.S.-led coalition …
Aleppo evacuation plan back on track to end years of fighting
ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) – An evacuation of rebel-held districts of Aleppo is back on track and expected to begin within hours, officials on both sides of the war said late on Wednesday, a retreat that would mark a major victory for Syrian Presid…
Peruvian president’s ties with powerful opposition party sour
LIMA (Reuters) – For the first few months of Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s term, the right-wing populist party he narrowly beat in June’s election helped his technocratic government push out an initial raft of reforms.
Afghan brothers who had ‘minefield as playground’ develop drone to clear mines
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As young boys growing up on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, Mahmud Hassani and his brother Massoud saw firsthand the damage landmines did to anyone unlucky enough to stumble across them.
