China orders ‘blacklist’ of 31 North Korean vessels: document
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese maritime authorities must “blacklist” 31 boats operated by a North Korean firm that came under U.N. Security Council sanctions this week, according to a Ministry of Transport document reviewed by Reuters – a signal …
Uganda tightens foreign adoption rules to thwart child trafficking
KAMPALA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Child rights campaigners in Uganda have welcomed a new law that restricts fast-track foreign adoptions in which children – often with living parents – can be whisked overseas in a matter of days.
Floating school in Lagos lagoon brings hope to Nigerian slum-on-stilts
LAGOS (Reuters) – Makoko, a vast slum of houses on stilts in a Lagos lagoon, now boasts a new school – pyramid-shaped, floating and capable of withstanding the waterways’ extreme weather, it is a beacon of hope for the nearly 100,000 Nigerians who live…
Ukrainian pilot to tell Russian court: Free me or watch me starve to death
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Ukrainian woman pilot on trial in Russia over the killing of two Russian journalists plans to tell a court to release her within 10 days of pronouncing its verdict or she will starve herself to death.
Belfast bomb injures prison officer; police call threat ‘severe’
BELFAST (Reuters) – A prison officer was injured by a bomb which exploded under his van in Belfast on Friday, police said, warning of a “severe” threat to security forces as the centenary approaches of the 1916 anti-British Easter Rising.
Landmark Pakistan women’s protection bill challenged in sharia court
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A prominent Pakistani lawyer has filed a petition in the top sharia court seeking that it strike down a new law that gives unprecedented protection to female victims of violence.
China’s 2016 defense budget to slow in line with economy
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defense budget this year is likely to rise at its slowest pace since 2010, in line with the decelerating economy and by a much lower figure than had been expected in military and diplomatic circles.
Europe leaders tell Putin Syria truce must hold to spur peace talks: Cameron
LONDON (Reuters) – European leaders told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that a fragile truce in Syria must be used to try to secure a lasting peace without President Bashar al-Assad, the spokeswoman for British Prime Minister David Cameron …
Seawater pipeline attack heralds fresh trouble in Nigeria’s Delta
LAGOS (Reuters) – A sophisticated attack on a sub-sea pipeline in Nigeria’s Delta might herald a return to the kind of widespread militant violence that crippled the oil industry in Africa’s top producer less than a decade ago.
Malaysia’s Mahathir joins with old enemies, including Anwar, to push out PM
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad on Friday joined hands with long-standing foes, including the party of the jailed Anwar Ibrahim, to crank up pressure on scandal-plagued Prime Minister Najib Razak to quit, marking a sei…
