Vietnam protesters denounce China on anniversary of navy battle
HANOI (Reuters) – Demonstrators marched in Vietnam’s capital on Monday to mark the 28th anniversary of a bloody naval battle with China and to denounce Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the hotly contested waters of the South China Sea.
Australia ‘deeply concerned’ over arrest of journalists in Malaysia
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia is deeply concerned over the arrest of two Australian journalists in Malaysia after they attempted to question Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over corruption allegations, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Monday…
Saudi Arabia says it will punish anyone linked to Hezbollah
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it would punish anyone who belongs to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Shi’ite Islamist group Hezbollah, sympathises with it, supports it financially or harbours any of its members.
Australia’s foreign minister to raise missile tests with Iranian counterpart
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Monday she will challenge her Iranian counterpart when they meet this week over reported missile tests during a military exercise that drew the threat of a diplomatic response from the…
Syria peace talks set to struggle despite foreign pressure
BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) – Syria peace talks due to begin in Geneva this week look set to struggle, with the sides showing no sign of compromise over the issue at the heart of the five-year-long conflict: the future of President Bashar al-Assad.
Obama tells Cuban dissidents he will discuss rights with Castro
HAVANA (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama promised one of Cuba’s most prominent dissident groups he would raise the issues of freedom of speech and assembly with Cuban President Raul Castro during his March 20-22 visit to the Caribbean island.
Small plane crashes into rural Bolivian market, kills seven
LA PAZ (Reuters) – A small plane crashed into a market in rural Santa Ana del Yacuma in northeast Bolivia’s Beni region on Sunday, killing seven people and injuring another 15, local police said.
German voters batter Merkel over migrant policy
BERLIN (Reuters) – Voters punished Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in three German regional elections on Sunday, giving a thumbs-down to her open-door refugee policy and turning in droves to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Ten suspected gang members killed in gunfight in northeast Mexico
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – At least 10 suspected gang members were killed on Sunday in an early morning firefight with federal security forces in the dangerous northeastern Mexican city of Reynosa, the state government said.
France urges tougher pilot checks after Germanwings crash
PARIS (Reuters) – French investigators have recommended tougher medical checks for pilots after uncovering fresh evidence of unreported concerns over the mental state of a German pilot who crashed his jet into the Alps last year, killing all 150 people…
