Australia, Indonesia renew push for trade deal amid warming ties
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia and Indonesia on Wednesday said they would formally resume long-stalled negotiations aimed at sealing a bilateral trade agreement between the often uneasy neighbors within 18 months.
Japan ruling party considers international arbitration over China dispute
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s ruling party urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government on Wednesday to consider seeking international arbitration over Beijing’s drilling activities in the disputed East China Sea, mirroring similar action by the Philippine…
Austria wants to help Macedonia keep border shut, Die Welt reports
BERLIN (Reuters) – Austria will supply equipment to help Macedonia keep its border closed and Europe’s main migrant route blocked, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Drive for EU membership could help pull a fractured Bosnia together
TUZLA, Bosnia (Reuters) – Bosnian membership in the European Union might not seem a realistic, or even desirable, goal, but boosters of the idea say working towards joining may be the only way the country can pull itself together 20 years after its dev…
Greek migration minister urged to resign over ‘Macedonia’ blunder
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, the head of the ruling coalition’s junior party, called on the migration minister to resign on Wednesday for failing to use the full name of northern neighbor the Former Yugoslav Republic of Mac…
Myanmar army chief endorses election of Suu Kyi’s president
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s powerful army chief congratulated incoming president Htin Kyaw and pledged cooperation on Wednesday, after the ally of Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as the country’s first head of state with no military background in decades…
Iraq preparing to push Islamic State away from oil region: report
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Kurdish Peshmerga forces, an Iran-backed Shi’ite militia and Iraq’s army will launch an offensive soon to push Islamic State fighters away from the northern oil region of Kirkuk, a state newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Aid reaches 13,000 families in Syria’s Aleppo province: Red Cross
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Fresh humanitarian aid reached some 13,000 families in northern Aleppo province as a convoy of 26 trucks entered areas hit by recent fighting, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.
Mayor of Chinese port city Ningbo probed for corruption
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese authorities have begun a graft probe into the mayor of the major eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo, the ruling Communist Party announced on Wednesday, the latest senior official caught up in a sweeping corruption crackdow…
Led by China, Mekong nations take on Golden Triangle narco-empire
THE MEKONG RIVER (Reuters) – The Lao People’s Army patrol boat was custom-made in China with night-vision capability and two of the most powerful engines on this remote stretch of the Mekong River.
