Abbas orders Palestinian NGO closed in spat with former deputy
RAMALLAH (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree to close an internationally funded Palestinian peace center run by a political rival, a government official said on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe cracks down on sackings, employers cry foul
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s government and opposition joined forces to push through legislation making it harder for firms to sack workers, pleasing powerful unions but angering employers who said it would hurt an already struggling economy.
Tsipras said not to have decided on early Greek elections, left rebels turn up heat
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has yet to make up his mind on calling early elections, a government minister said on Wednesday, following a rift in the ruling party over the country’s new bailout deal.
A year after Gaza war, Israel tests new anti-tunnel measures
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A year after Hamas used cross-border tunnels to launch deadly attacks during the Gaza war, Israel is testing new techniques to detect the hidden passages as a “top priority”, sources say, but has yet to announce the system fully o…
Floods cause acute water shortage in hundreds of Myanmar villages
NYAUNGDON, Myanmar (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Authorities are racing to clean contaminated water sources in flood-hit parts of Myanmar, while distributing bottled water, chlorine powder and purification tablets as they struggle with diarrhea outbre…
Global court to reopen obstruction case against Kenya
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Judges will reopen a hearing into whether to take action against Kenya over allegations it obstructed investigations into its President Uhuru Kenyatta, after an appeals court ordered them on Wednesday to reconsider their rejection…
Key Hong Kong pro-democracy students charged after Occupy protests
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Two key figures in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement have been charged with illegal assembly almost a year after students stormed government headquarters at the height of huge protests against Chinese rule, one of the activists s…
EU slams Russian ‘abduction’ of Estonian officer, demands release
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union demanded Russia release an Estonian police officer sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in jail for spying, nearly a year after the EU says Eston Kohver was abducted by Russian agents from Estonia territory.
Poll victor to build Sri Lankan unity government
COLOMBO (Reuters) – General election victor Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday called on Sri Lankans to unite as he set about the task of forming a national unity government that will seek to heal the divisions of the past.
Post-reshuffle, Indonesia beset by renewed government squabbles
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Less than a week after Joko Widodo called on ministers to set aside their egos, the Indonesian president’s new cabinet is beset by renewed squabbles, threatening to undo attempts to revive an economy growing at the slowest pace for …
