Italy government to decide date of referendum on Sept. 26
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s government will meet on Sept. 26 to decide the date of a national referendum over whether to accept or reject a constitutional reform passed by parliament, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Thursday.
Aligned with Russia in Syria, Pentagon awkwardly treads on new terrain
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For Pentagon officers who cut their teeth during the Cold War, the prospect of U.S. battlefield cooperation with Russia in Syria is not only uncomfortable. It’s also unprecedented.
Typhoon cuts power, lashes China with wind and rain before weakening
BEIJING (Reuters) – Typhoon Meranti slammed into southeastern China on Thursday with strong winds and lashing rain that cut power to 1.65 million homes, but there were no reports of more casualties in what has been described as the strongest storm of t…
Exclusive: Thai PM defends rights record since coup ahead of U.N. visit
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Thursday defended his country’s rights record since he seized power in a 2014 coup, saying he acted to end months of political instability.
Saudi prince warns Iran against using force to pursue rivalry
DUBAI (Reuters) – A senior Saudi official, responding to Iranian criticism of Riyadh’s management of the haj pilgrimage, urged Iran to end what he called wrong attitudes toward Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdo…
Polish, Hungarian ‘horse thief’ alliance alarms Brussels
KRYNICA-ZDROJ, Poland (Reuters) – Viktor Orban, Hungary’s fiery nationalist prime minister, is known for the contempt he showers on most European leaders. But when he appeared alongside Poland’s Jaroslaw Kaczynski last week, he paid his fellow Eastern …
Thai deputy PM contradicts police, says bombings not linked to Muslim insurgency
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Last month’s bombings in Thai tourist towns were not linked to Muslim separatists, Thailand’s defense minister said on Thursday, contradicting the police.
Merkel wants Germany to get refugees into workforce faster
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Germany needed “viable solutions” to integrate refugees into the workforce faster after she met with blue-chip companies, which have hired fewer than 100 refugees since around a milli…
Aid for Syria waits on Turkish border as warring sides bicker
CILVEGOZU, Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Two convoys of aid for the Syrian city of Aleppo were waiting in no-man’s land on Wednesday after crossing the Turkish border, held up by security fears and disagreements between combatants on the third day of a cea…
China says opposes ‘unhelpful’ unilateral North Korea sanctions
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Japanese counterpart that China opposes “unhelpful” unilateral sanctions on North Korea but will work within the United Nations to formulate a necessary response to its fifth nuclear test.
