Former Israeli PM Olmert’s jail term cut, cleared of main charge
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s top court slashed former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s prison sentence to 18 months from six years on Tuesday after overturning the main count in his 2014 bribery conviction.
German town bans New Year fireworks at refugee hostels
BERLIN (Reuters) – Refugees in a western German town have been banned from setting off fireworks to mark the New Year, partly out of concern that loud blasts could traumatize people who have fled war zones.
As record numbers flee their homes in 2015, the hopes of people forced out
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The year 2015 saw a record number of people fleeing their homes, with more than 60 million people uprooted by wars, conflict and persecution in countries ranging from Syria to South Sudan and Afghanistan, accordi…
As hydropower dries up, Tanzania moves toward fossil fuels
DAR ES SALAAM (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As drought continues to cripple its hydropower plants, Tanzania is struggling to produce enough electricity – and is moving toward using more fossil fuels to make up the shortfall.
New book says Communist China’s first premier was probably gay
BEIJING (Reuters) – A book to be published in Hong Kong in the new year says Zhou Enlai, Communist China’s much-respected first premier, was probably gay despite his long marriage, and had once been in love with a male schoolmate two years his junior.
Erdogan: ‘clear provocation’ from pro-Kurdish HDP leader
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday comments at the weekend from the leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) were a “clear provocation” and the party “will be taught a lesson” by the people and the la…
Special Report: Pentagon thwarts Obama’s effort to close Guantanamo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In September, U.S. State Department officials invited a foreign delegation to the Guantanamo Bay detention center to persuade the group to take detainee Tariq Ba Odah to their country. If they succeeded, the transfer would mark a small step toward realizing President Barack Obama’s goal of closing the prison before he leaves office.
China to ‘wait and see’ if Japan sincere on ‘comfort women’ issue
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it would “wait and see” how sincere Japan was after South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement to resolve the issue of “comfort women”.
European chamber says still has concerns on China anti-terror law
BEIJING (Reuters) – The European Chamber of Commerce in China still has concerns about China’s new counter-terrorism law despite some of the more contentious cyber elements of it being dropped, the chamber said in a statement released late on Monday.
China tells state-owned firms to absorb laid-off soldiers
BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese government has told state-owned companies they must help absorb soldiers laid off due to military reforms, as part of their contribution to the army’s modernization and social stability.
