Russia backs bigger OSCE mission in Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Saturday it wanted to see a bigger European monitoring mission in Ukraine to help oversee withdrawal of mortars, tanks and light artillery under recent agreements.
Sudan’s Bashir urges rebels to resume talks, only one notable group shows up
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir formally reopened talks with rebel and opposition groups on Saturday but only one significant opposition party showed up, and he urged them to halt a boycott on dialogue in return for a ceas…
China completes construction of lighthouses in disputed South China Sea
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has completed the construction of two lighthouses in the disputed South China Sea, the official Xinhua news agency reported, as tensions in the region mount over Beijing’s maritime ambitions.
China to intensify crackdown on illegal money transfers to fight corruption
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China will step up its crackdown on illegal cross-border money transfers conducted by underground money dealers and offshore companies, as part of efforts to fight corruption, the central bank said on Saturday.
North Korean defector trafficked, raped hopes her story raises awareness
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A young North Korean defector who was trafficked and raped at the age of 13 after fleeing to China said on Friday that she hoped going public with her life story would shine a light on “the darkest place on earth”,…
Nobel laureate chemist Richard Heck, 84, dies in Manila
MANILA (Reuters) – American chemist and Nobel laureate Richard Heck died in Manila on Saturday after years of illnesses that left him almost penniless, relatives of his Filipina wife said on Saturday.
Accidental China restaurant explosion kills at least 17: Xinhua
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – An explosion ripped through a restaurant in eastern China on Saturday, killing at least 17 people, the official Xinhua news agency reported, blaming the accident on a gas cylinder.
Hundreds face off in Australian town in anti-Islam protest
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters faced off with left-wing opponents on Saturday in a standoff over plans to build a mosque in a rural Australian town, witnesses said, the latest anti-Islam protest since a Muslim teenager killed a police office…
Turkish police detain editor of paper close to Erdogan foe: media
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish police have detained the editor of a newspaper close to an Islamic cleric foe of Tayyip Erdogan on allegations of insulting the president, media reports said, fuelling concerns about a clampdown on media ahead of a Nov. 1 e…
Islamic State closes in on Syrian city of Aleppo; U.S. abandons rebel training effort
BEIRUT/ANKARA (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters have seized villages close to the northern city of Aleppo from rival insurgents, a monitoring group said on Friday, despite an intensifying Russian air-and-sea campaign that Moscow says has targeted the …
