As Turkey’s coup strains ties with West, detente with Russia gathers pace
ISTANBUL/MOSCOW (Reuters) – As Turkey’s relations with Europe and the United States are strained by the fallout from its failed coup, President Tayyip Erdogan travels to Russia on Tuesday to meet Vladimir Putin in a trip he may hope will give the West …
China rejects U.S. criticism of crackdown on rights defenders
BEIJING (Reuters) – China rebuked the United States on Saturday for criticizing it over the convictions of rights activists, with a Chinese court this week sentencing three rights advocates and a lawyer to up to seven and half years jail for subversion…
Japan protests after China coastguard, fishing vessels sail near disputed islets
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan issued a new protest to Beijing on Saturday after Chinese coastguard ships and about 230 fishing vessels sailed close to what Tokyo considers its territorial waters around disputed islets in the East China Sea, Japan’s foreign m…
Kerry presses on with Russian talks on Syria despite Aleppo setbacks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is still pursuing an agreement with Russia on military cooperation in the fight against Islamic State in Syria despite major setbacks and skepticism from other administration officials and U.S. …
Syrian rebels storm Aleppo artillery base, army says attack repelled
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebels stormed a major army artillery base in the northern city of Aleppo on Friday to try an end the siege of opposition-held areas but the Syrian army said it had repelled the attack and killed hundreds of insurgents.
Japan remembers Hiroshima, urges world to follow Obama and visit
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan marked the 71st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Saturday as its mayor urged world leaders to follow in U.S. President Barack Obama’s footsteps and visit, and ultimately rid the world of nuclear arms.
At least one dead in Iran gas pipeline blast: official
ANKARA (Reuters) – At least one person was killed and three others injured in an Iranian gas pipeline explosion early on Saturday near the town of Gonaveh in the southern province of Bushehr, a local official told state news agency IRNA.
Kerry, Chinese foreign minister discuss Obama visit, North Korea
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone on Friday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Hangzhou, China, and his participation in the G20 summit, the State Department sai…
Exclusive: Stiglitz quits Panama Papers probe, cites lack of transparency
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – The committee set up to investigate lack of transparency in Panama’s financial system itself lacks transparency, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz told Reuters on Friday after resigning from the “Panama Papers” comm…
Cuban dissident briefly hospitalized, hunger strike in third week
HAVANA (Reuters) – Veteran Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas was briefly hospitalized in Santa Clara on Friday after losing consciousness in his home on the 16th day of a hunger strike to protest government repression, his opposition organization said….




