Malaysia PM to give statement about transferred funds ‘soon’
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday he will give a statement to the anti-graft agency soon over funds worth 2.6 billion ringgit ($595.58 million) that were transferred into his bank accounts.
Uzbekistan frees jailed dissident after Kerry visit
TASHKENT (Reuters) – Uzbekistan on Thursday freed one of its longest-serving political prisoners, a local human rights group said, shortly after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited the country.
Turkish election board confirms AKP won election with 317 seats
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s ruling AK Party won the Nov. 1 parliamentary election with 317 seats in the 550-seat assembly, High Election Board Chairman Sadi Guven told a news conference on Thursday to announce the official results.
Senior U.S. Congressional delegation makes rare Tibet trip
BEIJING (Reuters) – China allowed a senior U.S. Congressional delegation to visit Tibet, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, a long time critic of China’s human rights record there, a top Chinese leader said on Thursday.
Afghanistan aims to choke Taliban smuggling funds with gemstone bourse
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Afghanistan aims to deprive Taliban militants of funds from smuggled exports of the prized blue gemstone, lapis lazuli, by creating its own bourse to sell the stone, which has been traded for thousands of years in the Hindu Kush m…
Russian border guards’ return to Tajikistan ‘not on agenda’: official
ASTANA (Reuters) – Russia is worried by “terrorists” massing along the borders of the post-Soviet CIS group of states, but re-establishing Moscow’s control over the border with Afghanistan “is not on the agenda”, a senior official said on Thursday.
Turkish police detain 11 in raids targeting Islamic State: media
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish police detained 11 suspects in helicopter-backed raids targeting Islamic State militants across Istanbul, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday, just days ahead of a G20 summit being held in the country.
Bleak job prospects drive South Korean youth to vocational schools
BUCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) – Living in a country obsessed with academic success, Jang Dong-hae did what every South Korean parent dreads when he dropped out of university a year into a finance degree, doubting whether it would get him a job with a …
Troops could be sent to Burundi if violence worsens: diplomats
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Key Western powers and the United Nations are discussing the possible deployment of international peacekeepers to Burundi if the violence in the African country spirals into a full-scale ethnic conflict, diplomats said on Wed…
Obama expresses ‘deep concern’ over situation in Burundi: White House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama, in a phone call with South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday, expressed “deep concern” about the situation in Burundi, the White House said.
