Tokyo governor quits over scandal, second since winning Olympics
TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe resigned on Wednesday after coming under fire for misuse of tax money, including spending on family trips and artwork, the latest embarrassment as the Japanese capital prepares to host the 2020 Olympics.
Thai military cadets drilled for role on constitution referendum day
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Preparations by Thailand’s junta for a referendum in August over a new constitution that critics fear will entrench the military’s influence were stepped up on Wednesday as military cadets were shown what do at polling stations on t…
Former Thai PM Yingluck wows fans but remains divisive figure
PHRAE/BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters) – When former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrived in this sleepy corner of northern Thailand and flashed her familiar smile, waiting supporters gasped and spoke of a political revival.
Japan says Chinese surveillance vessel entered its waters
TOKYO (Reuters) – A Chinese navy reconnaissance vessel briefly entered Japan’s territorial waters early Wednesday off the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, a Japanese government spokesman said.
Food riots kill one more in Venezuela: legislator
CARACAS (Reuters) – A man was shot dead on Tuesday during looting and food riots proliferating round crisis-hit Venezuela, an opposition legislator said, bringing to at least four the number of fatalities from this month’s wave of unrest.
Brazil congressional ethics committee strips Cunha of his seat
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s congressional ethics committee voted to strip suspended Speaker Eduardo Cunha of his seat on Tuesday for allegedly lying about undeclared Swiss bank accounts, the latest in a series of political earthquakes to rock Latin A…
U.S. Third Fleet expands East Asia role as tensions rise with China
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet will send more ships to East Asia to operate outside its normal theater alongside the Japan-based Seventh Fleet, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, a move that comes at a time of heightened tensions with…
Brazil’s Rousseff has presidential perks cut
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s suspended President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday that the country’s interim government has suspended her use of Air Force planes and will no longer pay her hotel bills.
French police couple killed in attack claimed by Islamic State
PARIS/LES MUREAUX (Reuters) – A Frenchman who pledged allegiance to Islamic State stabbed a police commander to death outside his home and killed his partner, who also worked for the police, in an attack the government denounced as “an abject act of te…
Islamic scholar in homosexuality comments row leaves Australia
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A British Islamic scholar who toured Orlando this year and had preached in 2013 that “death is the sentence” for homosexual acts left Australia on Tuesday after the government launched an “urgent” review of his visa because of his co…
