No sleep for Ukraine officials as corruption reform deadline looms
KIEV (Reuters) – As the deadline nears for some 50,000 Ukrainian officials to fill out wealth declaration forms, lawmakers and ministers have vented their frustration at the tedious procedure with a mix of wry jokes and angry outbursts.
Russian fleet withdraws refuel request to Spain after NATO outcry
MADRID (Reuters) – Russia has withdrawn a request to refuel warships in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, Madrid said on Wednesday, after NATO allies said their carrier battle group could be used to target civilians in Syria.
Protesters attack EU asylum offices on second Greek island this week
ATHENS (Reuters) – A group of Syrian refugees protested on Wednesday at the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) premises in a migrant camp on the Greek island of Chios, forcing its staff to evacuate, officials said.
25 migrants found dead in rubber boat in Mediterranean
ROME (Reuters) – Twenty-five migrants were found dead in the bottom of a rubber boat in the Mediterranean, aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday, as sea deaths look set to break last year’s record.
Israel says ancient papyrus supports its claim to Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli archaeologists have made public a fragment of an ancient text which they say is the earliest Hebrew reference to Jerusalem outside the Bible – a discovery the government swiftly enlisted as evidence of the Jewish connectio…
Philippines’ Duterte tells Japan his China visit was just economics, blasts U.S.
TOKYO (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sought to assure Japan on Wednesday that his high-profile visit to China last week was about economics, not security, and vowed to stand on Tokyo’s side over the disputed South China Sea when the t…
British banker calmly details how he slit throats of two women in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (Reuters) – British banker Rurik Jutting calmly detailed to police his cocaine-fueled descent into a torture and killing binge that ended in the deaths of two Indonesian women in his luxury Hong Kong apartment, according to videos shown in co…
Child soldiers freed in South Sudan but recruitment heats up: UNICEF
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Armed groups in South Sudan released 145 children on Tuesday, the U.N. children’s agency (UNICEF) said, calling on warring parties to stop recruiting child soldiers as the world’s youngest nation teeters on the br…
Spain reviewing refueling permission for Russian warships
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain is reviewing a request by a Russian flotilla to refuel in its North African enclave of Ceuta, the foreign ministry said as Madrid drew criticism from NATO allies for assisting warships they believe could be used to target civil…
South African universities get an extra $1.2 billion to improve student enrollment
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Students at South African universities and higher education institutions will receive an extra 17 billion rand ($1.2 billion) over the next three years, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday.
