Cars, guns and watches seized as Thai royal insult probe widens
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai police on Wednesday widened a major probe into a network of people charged with insulting the monarchy, which has seen three people charged and eight police officers demoted so far.
Suspected Boko Haram militants kill 14 civilians in Niger
NIAMEY (Reuters) – Suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 14 people in an overnight attack on a village in southeastern Niger, security sources said on Wednesday.
Taliban overrun district in quake-hit northern Afghanistan
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents overran a district in one of the northern Afghan provinces hit by a powerful earthquake this week, underlining the security problems that have hampered efforts to get emergency relief to remote mountainous regions.
Germany to oblige banks to offer accounts to refugees
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s cabinet signed off on a draft law on Wednesday which will make it easier for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in the country to set up bank accounts.
Egypt extends state of emergency in North Sinai by three months
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt has extended by three months a state of emergency imposed on parts of Northern Sinai as the military mounts counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militants, the government said on Wednesday.
Russia’s Lavrov, Iran’s Zarif discuss preparations for Syria talks in Vienna
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke on Wednesday about preparations for talks on the Syria crisis slated to take place in Vienna later this week, the foreign ministry said.
South Korea’s Park to play balancing act between China and Japan
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye faces a delicate balancing act between her country’s rapidly developing ties with Beijing and U.S. pressure to mend ties with Tokyo as she hosts the first three-way summit in three years with China…
Company running Australian camps in Pacific denies abuse
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The company running Australia’s offshore immigration detention camps rejected on Wednesday suggestions its staff were involved in rights abuses on isolated Pacific islands as the United Nations stepped up criticism of the facilities….
Islamic State risk for Libya’s troubled oil sector
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – When Islamic State militants attacked a perimeter gate guarding Libya’s Es Sider oil terminal this month, they sent gunmen to kill guards before attempting to detonate a car bomb in a bid to breach the port’s defenses.
Belarus says Russian military base will worsen tensions: Kommersant
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Belarus sees no need to discuss placing a Russian air base in the country as it will not help to lower tensions in the region, Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei was quoted as saying by Russia’s Kommersant newspaper.
