Russia opens criminal case after bear’s killing causes outcry
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian investigators said on Wednesday they had opened a criminal case into a group of men who filmed themselves crushing a bear to death by repeatedly driving over it in off-road vehicles in the Siberian tundra.
On Pearl Harbor visit, Abe pledges Japan will never wage war again
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a symbolic visit to Pearl Harbor with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, commemorating the victims of Japan’s World War Two attack and promising that his country would never wage …
‘Brexit – We’re making a mess of it’: mashup artists lampoon Britain’s leaders
LONDON (Reuters) – In a satire of the 2016 Brexit vote, mashup artists lampoon Britain’s leaders in a video which re-edits their words to say the European Union referendum was dumb and Prime Minister Theresa May is making a mess of Brexit.
Iran says it warns off foreign planes near war games
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has warned off foreign surveillance planes that have tried to approach its forces during air defense exercises on the Gulf coast, an Iranian military spokesman said on Wednesday.
Bangladesh arrests five suspected Islamists ‘plotting New Year attack’
DHAKA (Reuters) – Police in Bangladesh have arrested five suspected Islamist militants believed to be plotting to attack New Year celebrations, a counter-terrorism police chief said on Wednesday.
Turkish military ‘neutralises’ 44 Islamic State militants in northern Syria
ANKARA (Reuters) – The Turkish military said on Wednesday it had “neutralised” 44 Islamic State militants and wounded 117 as part of its operation in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab.
Explosion kills local official in northern Lebanon: NNA
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An explosion killed a local official in Lebanon’s northern Bekaa Valley region on Wednesday, the National News Agency (NNA) said.
Blast in Afghan capital wounds member of parliament
KABUL (Reuters) – A bomb attack targeted a member of Afghanistan’s parliament in the capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, wounding him and several other people, officials said.
Quoting Mao, China says Taiwan, HK independence supporters will fail ‘like flies’
BEIJING (Reuters) – Quoting a poem by the founder of Communist China Mao Zedong, China’s government said on Wednesday that the efforts by Hong Kong and Taiwan independence supporters to link up were doomed to fail, as they would be dashed to the ground…
China calls on Vatican to be flexible amid decades-old rift
BEIJING (Reuters) – The Vatican should take steps to improve relations with China, the Chinese head of religious affairs said on Tuesday, a week after the Roman Catholic Church said it was hoping for “positive signals” from Beijing.
