Azerbaijan’s president fires security minister
BAKU (Reuters) – Azeri President Ilham Aliyev fired his National Security Minister Eldar Mahmudov in a surprise move two weeks ahead of a parliamentary election.
Japan jet scrambles against China planes hit record this summer
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan scrambled fighter jets to prevent possible incursions by Chinese planes a record high number of times for the July-September period, the Defence Ministry said on Monday, with Tokyo and Beijing at loggerheads over disputed islets…
Canada PM appeals for support as rival leads before Monday vote
NEWMARKET/TORONTO, Ontario (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his team on Sunday urged Conservative supporters to get out the vote as polls showed Liberal rival Justin Trudeau holding a firm lead one day before the country’s fiercel…
German intelligence closely monitoring anti-Islam movements
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is closely monitoring anti-Islam movements like PEGIDA following a march last week in which demonstrators held up a mock gallows with a noose marked for Chancellor Angela Merkel, a spokesman for…
Uighur leader says blood on Britain’s red carpet welcome for China’s Xi
TOKYO (Reuters) – The red carpet Britain is laying out this week to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping is stained with the blood of Uighurs, Tibetans and dissidents, a top exiled Uighur leader said on Monday, calling the lavish reception “unfortunate…
Votes for National Front will cost jobs, French president says
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande said on Monday that a vote for the far-right National Front in regional elections in December would hurt jobs and investment.
As gritty patch of London upgrades, poorer locals pushed out
LONDON (Reuters) – Janet and Larry Colfer like to go for Sunday lunch at an old haunt in Elephant and Castle, where they lived for 36 years until their run-down social housing estate was knocked down to make way for smart new apartment blocks.
Malaysia’s Najib faces budget test amid oil slump and graft scandal
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Dogged by scandal and hampered by falling oil and gas revenues, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak will present a budget on Friday that will look to shore up economic growth and appease voters unhappy with his leadership and…
Japan says PM sent war shrine offering as individual, but China unhappy
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan said on Monday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was acting in a private capacity when he sent a ritual offering to a shrine for war dead, seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by many in Asia, but China said he was wrong to …
Russia studies U.S. proposal for multi-lateral Syria meeting: Interfax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is considering a proposal from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for a meeting on Syria involving representatives from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan, Interfax news agency said on Monday, citing a source in Russia’s …
