Vietnamese dissident a reluctant tourist during Obama visit
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese dissident Nguyen Quang A spent much of Tuesday as a tourist with plainclothes cops – eating fish noodle soup, visiting a temple and a fortune teller – returning home just as President Barack Obama took off from Hanoi aboard Air Force One.
Thailand canvasses support for controversial charter ahead of August vote
BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) – Thailand’s military government on Wednesday kicked off a drive to convince citizens to vote in an August referendum for a draft constitution that the junta has said will pave the way for an election next year.Opponents say…
Netanyahu signs coalition deal, names far-right Lieberman defense chief
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his choice for defense minister, ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman, signed a coalition agreement on Wednesday and issued assurances that the most right wing government in Israel’s history wou…
Vietnam PM says country not pursuing military buildup in South China Sea
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Wednesday his country was not pursuing a military buildup over the South China Sea and would seek only peaceful means to solve disputes, with no use of force.
Germany, France hold back NATO, EU ambitions in Libya
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe’s bold intentions to support Libya’s new U.N.-backed government are faltering as France and Germany resist a bigger role to rebuild the failed state, scarred by the West’s 2011 air campaign to help topple dictator Muammar Ga…
Swedish court upholds Assange arrest warrant
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A Swedish lower court upheld on Wednesday the arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, saying the stay at Ecuador’s London embassy did not equal detention.
Greece starts moving migrants from squalid border camp
IDOMENI, Greece (Reuters) – Greece sent in police and bulldozers on Tuesday to knock down tents and relocate hundreds of migrants who had been stranded for months in a squalid makeshift camp on the border with Macedonia.
Russia says holding off air strikes on Nusra Front in Syria
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday it was holding off from striking rebels with the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front to give other armed groups time to move away from Nusra positions.
Syrian rebels agree in Qatar to stop fighting each other
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Two Syrian rebel groups which have been fighting each other near Damascus have negotiated a ceasefire in Qatar, statements published by the two groups said.
Obama to Asians worried about U.S. election: It’s going to be OK
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama sought on Wednesday to ease growing Asian worries about the raucous election campaign to succeed him which has been dominated by the incendiary rhetoric of mogul Donald Trump, now the R…
