Three Chinese fishermen killed in confrontation with South Korea coastguard
SEOUL (Reuters) – Three Chinese fishermen were killed on Thursday in a fire that broke out on their boat when South Korean coastguard men trying to apprehend them for illegal fishing threw flash grenades into a room they were hiding in, a South Korean …
Change offensive ‘Black Pete’ figure, says Dutch children’s advocate
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – “Black Pete”, a clownish figure in black face paint that is part of Dutch traditional winter holiday celebrations, leads to discrimination and bullying of black children and must be changed, a national children’s rights defender s…
Indonesians line up to beat deadline for tax amnesty’s best terms
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Hundreds of Indonesians queued for hours on Friday to get the most attractive terms on offer under a tax amnesty that’s recovered strongly after a slow start and which the finance minister calls the most successful a country has had…
Exclusive: Xi set to consolidate power in China by curbing Communist Youth League
BEIJING (Reuters) – A year before a Communist Party conclave that could decide who will eventually replace him as China’s next leader, President Xi Jinping is maneuvering to reduce the power of a rival political bloc while seeking to get members of his own faction onto the country’s top ruling body, according to three sources with ties to the leadership.
China says countering Dalai Lama is top ethnic priority in Tibet
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will make countering the Dalai Lama’s influence the “highest priority” in its work on ethnic affairs in Tibet, the region’s Communist Party boss has said, vowing to uproot the monk’s “separatist and subversive” activities.
Former party boss of China’s Guangzhou jailed for life for graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese court jailed the former Communist Party boss of the southern city of Guangzhou for life on Friday after finding him guilty of corruption, the latest official to fall in President Xi Jinping’s sweeping war on graft.
Panama Papers dents new Panama incorporations, seen down 20 pct
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – The number of new companies incorporated in Panama is on track to drop around 20 percent this year following the massive leak of offshore financial data known as the Panama Papers, the government said on Thursday.
Child labor taints production of batteries for electric carmakers, Amnesty says
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Leading electric carmakers may be unwittingly using child labor to produce batteries for vehicles that have grown in popularity for using clean energy aimed at limiting global warming, Amnesty International said on…
After military raid, India looks at more ways to pressure Pakistan
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Beyond Thursday’s raid by Indian special forces into Pakistan’s side of divided Kashmir, New Delhi is considering new economic and diplomatic measures to bring pressure to bear on its neighbor, Indian officials said.
U.S. close to suspending Syria talks with Russia as Aleppo battle rages
WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The United States is close to suspending talks with Russia on a ceasefire in Syria, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, as the Kremlin vowed to press on with an assault on the city of Aleppo.
