Brexit casts doubt over new EU and NATO defense strategy
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Britain’s departure from the European Union risks undermining Europe’s new defense strategy, days before NATO and EU governments sign a landmark pact to confront a range of threats from Russia to the Mediterranean, officials say.
Empty houses and jobless maids: Indonesia’s expat exodus gathers pace
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Foreign workers are leaving Indonesia at an increasing rate due to the slump in commodity prices that has forced resource companies to slash jobs at a time when the government has also introduced tighter regulations on expatriates i…
U.S.-UK alliance seen outweighing Brexit trade concerns
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States looks unlikely to follow through on a threat to relegate Britain to second-class trade status once its ally leaves the European Union, as it weighs the potential costs of undermining the countries’ close diploma…
Grenade attack on Malaysian pub wounds eight, police rule out terrorism
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – A grenade attack on a bar in Malaysia wounded eight people, including a Chinese national, police said on Tuesday, ruling out terrorism as a motive.
UNICEF finds dramatic inequality among world’s poorest, richest children
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The number of children who do not attend school is rising, child marriage has not dropped in decades and millions of young children will die mostly preventable deaths by 2030 if global poverty is not addressed, …
Exclusive: U.S. to downgrade Myanmar in annual human trafficking report – sources
WASHINGTON/YANGON (Reuters) – The United States has decided to place Myanmar on its global list of worst offenders in human trafficking, officials said, a move aimed at prodding the country’s new democratically elected government and its still-powerful military to do more to curb the use of child soldiers and forced labor.
Adios, Three Amigos: Obama heads to last summit with Canada, Mexico
WASHINGTON/OTTAWA (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday for his final “Three Amigos” summit, a meeting that may signal how keen the North American partners are to tout trade at a time of rising …
Japan revamps child welfare, but tens of thousands still institutionalized
TOKYO (Reuters) – A baby lies in a metal-bar cot drinking from a bottle perched on his pillow in a Tokyo orphanage. There’s no one to hold and feed him or offer words of comfort.
Pakistan’s new military courts challenged over abuse claims
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether secret military tribunals set up in early 2015 to try civilians accused of terrorism have violated the constitutional rights of 12 people convicted by these courts.
Turkey mends fences with Israel, Russia in foreign policy reset
ISTANBUL/MOSCOW/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Turkey announced the restoration of diplomatic ties with Israel on Monday after a six-year rupture and expressed regret to Russia over the downing of a warplane, seeking to mend strained alliances and ease a sense …
