U.S. air strikes hit targets in embattled Afghan district
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) – U.S. aircraft carried out two attacks in Sangin, the district in southern Afghanistan overrun by Taliban insurgents this week, officials said on Thursday.
Eighteen migrants drown after boat sinks off Turkey’s western coast: media
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Eighteen people including six children drowned on Thursday after a boat carrying migrants sank off Turkey’s western coastal town of Dikili, Dogan news agency reported.
Activists call for witness protection as major Thai human trafficking trial begins
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Thai authorities must step up witness protection for a major human trafficking trial with the accused including an army general and one investigator fleeing the country fearing for his life, activists said on Thur…
Russia’s security chief says identified groups behind plane explosion in Egypt: agencies
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, said on Thursday Russia had identified groups behind the explosion of a Russian plane in Egypt, which killed all 224 passengers on board in October, local news agenc…
Myanmar men sentenced to death for murder of British tourists in Thailand
KOH SAMUI, Thailand (Reuters) – A Thai court sentenced two Myanmar migrant workers to death on Thursday after convicting them of the 2014 murders of two young British tourists on a holiday island in a case mired in controversy and a dispute over DNA te…
Japan minister heads to Korea to try to resolve ‘comfort women’ issue
TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) – Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is heading to South Korea this month to seek a resolution on the “comfort women” issue, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday.
Japan seeking information after reports Japanese journalist held hostage in Syria
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government is seeking information after reports a Japanese freelance journalist is being held hostage in Syria and has been threatened with execution, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday.
Minority report: Chinese official ‘faked family’s ethnicity’
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese authorities will prosecute a former senior official in the far western region of Xinjiang for corruption, involving faking the ethnicity of his wife and child, the government said on Thursday.
Western countries issue rare Christmas security alerts for Beijing
BEIJING (Reuters) – At least four Western countries took the unusual step on Thursday of issuing Christmas security warnings for Westerners in a popular Beijing diplomatic and entertainment district as police stepped up patrols.
Refugee girl who cried after Merkel comments can stay in Germany: report
BERLIN (Reuters) – A 14-year-old Palestinian girl who burst into tears when Chancellor Angela Merkel told her she might be deported has been granted a residency permit to stay in Germany until October 2017, mass-selling daily Bild reported on Thursday….
