Japan pledges $6 billion to Mekong nations as China prepares new bank
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan said on Saturday it would extend around $6 billion in development aid to Mekong region countries, as China prepares to launch a new institutional lender seen as encroaching on the regional clout of Tokyo and ally Washington.
Honduras stages biggest march yet to demand president step down
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Tens of thousands Hondurans poured onto the streets of the capital Tegucigalpa on Friday to demand the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernandez in the biggest demonstration yet against the country’s leader over allegation…
Panama top court approves third probe against ex-president Martinelli
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama’s Supreme Court on Friday approved a third investigation against ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, this time on suspicion he issued illegal pardons to allies while in office between 2009 and 2014.
France’s Hollande says ready to hold new summit on Boko Haram
YAOUNDE (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande said on Friday he is ready to organize a new summit of nations fighting Boko Haram, a militant group that has suffered defeats in recent months in its campaign to forge an Islamist state in northea…
Iran nuclear talks in endgame, negotiators push on sticking points
VIENNA (Reuters) – A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping toward the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran’s past atomic research.
Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi Arabia’s Najran and Jizan
CAIRO (Reuters) – Yemen’s dominant Houthi group and its army allies said on Saturday it had shelled various areas in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan and Najran, killing and wounding several soldiers.
At least 25 Syrian al Qaeda members dead in mosque blast in Syria’s Idlib: monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An explosion at a mosque in Syria’s Idlib province on Friday killed at least 25 members of the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, the British-based Observatory monitoring group said.
Car bombs explode in Libya’s Derma, at least six killed
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – At least six people were killed and 10 others wounded when several car bombs exploded in the Libyan city of Derna, a medical source said on Friday.
Greeks deeply divided heading into crucial vote
ATHENS (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on Friday in rival rallies that laid bare the deep divide heading into a referendum that may decide the country’s future in Europe’s single currency.
Top choice blocked for U.N. digital privacy investigator post
GENEVA (Reuters) – The Estonian picked as the U.N.’s first digital privacy investigator was blocked on Friday by the German president of the Human Rights Council after activist groups said she would not be a strong enough critic of U.S. surveillance.
