China pilots told to rise above prostitution, gambling and drink
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s airline pilots have been warned to steer clear of prostitutes, gambling and drink ahead of this year’s Lunar New Year holiday, part of a campaign to strengthen the country’s air safety record.
Isolated Nepal PM could be toppled by constitution crisis
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – An unwieldy coalition of lawmakers trying to implement Nepal’s first democratic constitution is finding common cause with protesting minority groups, isolating Prime Minister K.P. Oli and increasing the risk his government could fall this spring.
Ahead of Chinese New Year, Xi pushes economic, military reform
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has used a traditional pre-Lunar New Year visit to outlying regions to call for more effort to be made in economic and military reform, two causes of key importance to his administration.
Exclusive: Burundi rebels say trained by Rwandan military – U.N. experts
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A confidential report to the United Nations Security Council accuses Rwanda of recruiting and training Burundian refugees with the goal of ousting Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Argentina’s Peronist opposition party splits; boost for Macri
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s main opposition party suffered a split on Wednesday after a dozen of its lawmakers quit, party leaders said, handing a boost to newly-elected President Mauricio Macri’s hopes of pushing his legislative agenda throug…
Syrian army and allies breaks rebel siege of Shi’ite towns: army
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army and its allies have broken a three-year rebel siege of two Shi’ite towns in northwest Syria, government and rebel groups said on Wednesday, cutting off a main insurgent route to nearby Turkey.
Use of ‘dictator law’ rises in Thailand as junta’s reforms falter
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha is relying increasingly on a security measure dubbed “the dictator’s law” to push through unpopular policies and kickstart stalled reforms, say critics, who warn it could spark further opposition t…
Italian student missing in Egypt likely dead: Italian foreign ministry
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Italian student from Britain’s Cambridge University who went missing last week in Cairo is likely dead, the Italian foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Pressure mounts on North Korea to abandon rocket launch
SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – International pressure grew on North Korea to call off a planned rocket launch, seen by some governments as another missile test, while Japan put its military on alert to shoot down any rocket that threatens its territory.
U.S. rejects 30 Syrian refugees amid tightened security
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has recently rejected 30 Syrians out of thousands seeking to enter the country, Obama administration officials told a congressional panel on Wednesday, as the United States tightens vetting of immigrants and oth…
