Merkel backs emergency funds for German towns facing refugee influx
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s government plans to double funding this year to help towns cope with record numbers of refugees, moving to tackle an issue that is straining resources and fuelling social tensions.
China sacks work safety chief after Tianjin blasts
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has sacked the head of its work safety regulator for suspected corruption, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday, following blasts that killed more than 100 people in the port city of Tianjin this month.
Bomb takes toll on Thai tourism; govt predicts swift rebound
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s worst-ever bombing has caused a 17 percent fall in tourist arrivals, putting pressure on revenues vital to the military government’s moves to resuscitate a struggling economy.
Chinese Tiananmen Square dissident says seeking asylum in Taiwan
TAIPEI (Reuters) – A Chinese political dissident who supported Tiananmen Square protesters after the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists is seeking asylum in Taiwan after arriving last month as a tourist and overstaying his permit, he said…
Russia, NATO need new rules to cut risk of war, ex-ministers say
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Russia and NATO must agree common rules to handle unexpected military encounters to reduce the risk of inadvertently triggering a war between Moscow and the West, a group of former foreign and defense ministers said on Wednesday.
Burkina excludes ex-President’s allies from legislative election
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Burkina Faso’s constitutional council has declared more than 40 people linked to former President Blaise Compaore’s ruling alliance ineligible for an October legislative election.
U.S. plans more Asia-Pacific drills to counter China reclamation
MANILA (Reuters) – The United States plans to increase the number of military and humanitarian drills it conducts in the Asia-Pacific as part of a new strategy to counter China’s rapid expansion in the South China Sea, the Philippine military said on W…
U.S. to work with Sri Lanka on U.N. resolution addressing alleged war crimes
COLOMBO (Reuters) – The United States said on Wednesday it would work together with Sri Lanka’s new government to propose a resolution to a U.N. human rights forum that seeks to come to terms with the painful legacy of a 26-year civil war.
Hoping for domestic reform, Iranian activists back nuclear deal
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian pro-democracy activists, lawyers and artists have thrown their weight behind last month’s nuclear deal with world powers, hoping it will lead to a promised political opening that President Hassan Rouhani has so far failed to d…
Yemen’s Al Qaeda denies it held British hostage
DUBAI (Reuters) – The Yemen branch of Al Qaeda denied reports it had been holding a British hostage who the United Arab Emirates said it freed from the group earlier this week.
