Indonesia police to pursue blasphemy case against capital’s Christian governor as tension simmers
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian police said on Wednesday they will pursue an investigation into a blasphemy complaint by Muslim groups against the Christian governor of Jakarta, amid simmering religious and ethnic tension in the world’s largest Muslim-m…
Soap opera: South Korea’s Park ‘used starlet as pseudonym’ at detox clinic
SEOUL (Reuters) – The starlet of a TV soap became the most talked-about celebrity in South Korea on Wednesday when a TV channel revealed President Park Geun-hye once used her name as a pseudonym at a beauty and detox clinic, a distraction from the scan…
Kurdish militia YPG to depart Syria’s Manbij after training, U.S. diplomat says
ISTANBUL/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Kurdish YPG militia will pull its forces from the Syrian city of Manbij and withdraw east of the Euphrates River in order to participate in the campaign to liberate the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, it said in a sta…
Russian government to meet on Wednesday, ahead of schedule
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian government will hold an urgent meeting at midday on Wednesday, Valentina Matvienko, speaker of the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, told senators, the Interfax news agency reported.
Other suspects may appear in bribery case of Russia’s ex-economy minister: agencies
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Other suspects may appear in a criminal case in which investigators have charged Russia’s former economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev with extorting a $2 million bribe, unnamed sources told Russian news agencies on Wednesday.
New Zealand evacuates tourists, locals stranded by earthquake
WOODEND/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Helicopters ferried scores of residents and tourists out of a small New Zealand town on Wednesday as others boarded naval ships, three days after the region was completely cut off by landslides following a major earthquak…
Global terrorism deaths fall, but rise 650 percent in OECD countries: report
LONDON (Reuters) – Deaths from terrorism in OECD countries increased by 650 percent last year despite a marked fall globally as Islamic State (IS)and Boko Haram militants suffered military defeats at home but committed more attacks abroad, a report sa…
Philippines’ Duterte says trusts Trump to be fair on immigration
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte thinks he will get along with Donald Trump as the U.S. president-elect “has not meddled in human rights” issues, and he trusted Trump’s judgment to deal fairly with the undocumented workers he plans …
Trump aims to ease Asian allies’ qualms when he meets Japan’s Abe
TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump is expected to use his first meeting with a foreign leader as U.S. president-elect this week to try to reassure Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other Asian allies rattled by his campaign rhetoric, advise…
Nicaragua ruling party widens majority in Congress after vote
MANAGUA (Reuters) – Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega’s party strengthened its majority in the country’s Congress after his landslide re-election earlier this month, the country’s electoral authority said on Tuesday.
