At least 11 killed in hotel blaze in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A fire at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Karachi killed at least 11 people on Monday and injuring dozens, media reported.
Pentagon chief says satisfied with Japanese contribution to alliance
ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) – The United States is satisfied with Japan’s contribution to the alliance between the two countries, U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday, looking to ease concern in the region about the direction Pr…
Crowds gather after Tamil Nadu leader suffers cardiac arrest
CHENNAI, India (Reuters) – The life of the leader of India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu hung in the balance on Monday after she went into cardiac arrest, drawing large crowds to the hospital where doctors were fighting to save the hugely popular form…
U.S. reshaping budget to account for Russian military threat
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (Reuters) – Russia’s increasing military activities around the world have unsettled top U.S. military officials, who say they are reshaping their budget plans to better address what they now consider to be the most pressing threat t…
Japan PM hopes for progress on peace treaty with Russia
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that he hopes for progress in peace treaty talks with Russia but that the issue can’t be settled in one meeting.
Austrians roundly reject far right in presidential election
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian voters roundly rejected on Sunday a candidate vying to become the first freely elected far-right head of state in Europe since World War Two, halting at least temporarily the wave of populism sweeping Western democracies.
Islamic State strikes back to slow Iraqi forces in Mosul
BAGHDAD/BARTELLA, Iraq (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters retreating in the face of a seven-week Iraqi military assault on their Mosul stronghold have hit back in the last two days, exploiting cloudy skies which hampered U.S.-led air support and highli…
China newspapers say call with Taiwan’s Tsai shows Trump’s inexperience
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese state media on Monday continued to play down the protocol-bending phone call last week between U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwan’s president, with editorials in two newspapers saying the move showed Trump’s inexp…
Fidel Castro interred in rock, closing last chapter of historic life
SANTIAGO, Cuba (Reuters) – Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro’s ashes were encased in a large granite boulder on Sunday in a ceremony that capped nine days of public mourning and aimed to literally set in stone the legacy of one of the 20th century’s mos…
In fear after attacks, gay Bangladeshis retreat into closet and flee abroad
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Seven months after al Qaeda-linked militants hacked Bangladesh’s most prominent gay activist to death, the South Asian country’s LGBT community remains in hiding, while more than a dozen LGBT people have fled abro…
