Thousands of Indonesian workers protest against tax amnesty
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Thousands of Indonesian union workers marched to the heart of Jakarta on Thursday to protest against a government tax amnesty scheme, which is meant to plug a large budget deficit but which they say unfairly pardons wealthy tax dodg…
Kurdish militants kill three Turkish militia members: sources
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Kurdish militants killed three members of a state-backed militia in a firefight in southeastern Turkey on Thursday, security sources said.
Warplanes knock out Aleppo hospitals as Russian-backed assault intensifies
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Russian or Syrian warplanes knocked two hospitals out of service in the besieged rebel sector of Aleppo on Wednesday and ground forces intensified an assault in a battle which the United Nations said had made the city worse than a sl…
Singapore court sends teen blogger back to jail for criticizing religion
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A Singapore court sentenced 17-year-old blogger Amos Yee to six weeks in jail on Thursday for “wounding religious feelings”, his second prison term in a year, reigniting concerns about social controls and censorship in the conserv…
As Philippines’ Duterte visits Vietnam, U.S. jibes hang over new partnership
HANOI (Reuters) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte met Vietnam’s top leadership on Thursday, aiming to advance a burgeoning alliance that could become increasingly uncertain amid his defiance of the United States and overtures towards China.
The cost of cheap drugs? Toxic Indian lake is ‘superbug hotspot’
HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) – Centuries ago, Indian princes would bathe in the cool Kazhipally lake in Medak. Now, even the poorest villagers here in India’s baking south point to the barren banks and frothy water and say they avoid going anywhere near …
The underground pipeline shaping North Korea’s new capitalists
SEOUL (Reuters) – As the United States and other nations grasp for new ways to sanction Pyongyang in response to its latest nuclear test, some North Korean defectors see investment in its rudimentary market economy as a way to foment gradual change fro…
Duterte declares upcoming Philippines-U.S. war games ‘the last one’
HANOI (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plunged one of the United States’ most important Asian alliances deeper into uncertainty on Wednesday by declaring upcoming U.S.-Philippines military exercises “the last,” and ruling out any joint …
China promises cooperation with United Nations on human rights
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will cooperate with the United Nations Human Rights Council, a body it has had testy relations with over the years, and invite its representatives to visit the country as appropriate, the government said in a policy paper on T…
Rights group urges Bangladesh to stop ‘kneecapping’ detainees
DHAKA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Security forces in Bangladesh are deliberately shooting members and supporters of opposition parties in the leg, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday that compared the acts to “kneecappings” once meted ou…
