Palestinians delay soccer final in dispute over travel
GAZA (Reuters) – The Palestinian Football Federation postponed the final Palestine Cup game between the champions from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after Israel denied entry permits to some of the Gaza players, Palestinian sports officials said.
Thai courts hand down record sentences for royal insults
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai military courts on Friday jailed two people, one for 30 years and the other for 28 years, for insulting the monarchy, the heaviest sentences for the crime in the country’s history, lawyers and a legal monitoring group said.
Nepal quakes caused ‘minimal damage’ to Everest trails
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Most lodges and hiking trails near Mount Everest suffered only minimal damage during two big earthquakes in Nepal this year,
New diplomatic push for Syria seen, but solution elusive
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The first visit of a top Syrian official to a Gulf Arab state in more than four years is the strongest sign yet of a new diplomatic push to end the Syrian war, but there are still huge hurdles to face before any peace process can beg…
China accuses prominent rights lawyer of inciting subversion
BEIJING (Reuters) – Police in China have accused a prominent human rights lawyer of inciting subversion and creating a disturbance, her lawyer said on Friday, paving the way for possible formal charges.
Story of lost, mute girl searching for home unites India, Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – The story of a deaf-mute woman who lost her family when she wandered over one of the world’s most militarized borders as a child has sparked a rare moment of warmth between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, as diplomats w…
Kerry says U.S. ties can grow if more freedom in Vietnam
HANOI (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry lauded on Friday the warming of ties with Vietnam but said the scope of relations, and military deals, would depend on its communist rulers’ willingness to protect rights and freedoms.
Succession feud mars legacy of Lotte Group founder
SEOUL (Reuters) – Shin Kyuk-ho, the founder of one of South Korea’s biggest and best-known conglomerates, has sought to crown his rags-to-riches success story by building the country’s tallest skyscraper.
Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa struggles in vote campaign, trails in poll
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is trailing his main rival in a prime ministerial elections later this month, the latest national opinion poll showed, as the once-powerful leader struggles to mount a strong campaign.
Blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh, fourth this year
DHAKA (Reuters) – A blogger was hacked to death in Bangladesh on Friday, the fourth killing of an online critic of religious extremism in the Muslim-majority country in less than six months.
