A magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes disaster-hit Ecuador: USGS
(Reuters) – A powerful earthquake measuring 6.0 magnitude struck Ecuador on Thursday, as the country was still struggling to recover from a deadly quake that killed 587 people, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Mexico’s Pemex puts blast death toll at 24, blames leak
COATZACOALCOS, Mexico (Reuters) – Twenty-four people died after a leak caused a deadly petrochemical plant blast, and the death toll could still rise, Mexican oil giant Pemex said on Thursday, the latest in a series of fatal accidents to batter the com…
China tells Taiwan it will try telecoms fraud suspects
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will try the 45 Taiwan suspects in a telecoms fraud case who were deported by Kenya to China this month, the Chinese government told a delegation from Taiwan, state media reported, in a case that has angered the self-ruled isl…
China’s Xi takes up new military title as part of reforms process
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has been appointed commander-in-chief of a new joint command headquarters for China’s military, state media said, part of an on-going reform program to modernize the world’s largest armed forces.
Mexico’s new ambassador to U.S. sees ties neglected, vows action
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico has failed to pay proper attention to its relationship with the United States and will be more proactive in countering negative publicity it has suffered during the U.S. election campaign, its new ambassador to Washington…
Obama reaffirms U.S. to deter aggression against Gulf Arabs
RIYADH (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pledged to “deter aggression” against Gulf Arab allies increasingly concerned about Iran’s influence in the region but did not shy away from raising sensitive issues in talks aimed at addressing recent strains …
Chadian President Deby re-elected in landslide first-round victory
N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chad’s incumbent president, Idriss Deby, an important ally of the West in the fight against Islamist militants, won a fifth term in office in a lopsided first-round victory, the Central African country’s elections commission annou…
Three years after Rana Plaza disaster, has anything changed?
MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Three years after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 factory workers, the rights and safety of workers are in greater focus, but progress in fixing problems in the supply chain is slo…
China blames Taiwan criminals for surge in telephone scams
BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) – China is battling an explosion of telecoms fraud that has cost billions of dollars in financial losses and driven some victims to suicide, according to authorities in Beijing who say criminal gangs based in rival Taiwan are b…
Kidnaps, airstrip attack hit aid operations in northern Mali, agencies say
DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The kidnapping of three Red Cross staff and damage to an airstrip by violent protesters in northern Mali have hindered humanitarian operations in a region which has been slowly stabilizing, aid agencies said on Thur…
