Taliban web article denounces peace talks, but Kabul upbeat
KABUL (Reuters) – An article on a Taliban website highlighted divisions on Thursday over landmark peace talks with Kabul, but an Afghan government minister played down suggestions that the militants’ leaders were split.
Russia is top U.S. national security threat – U.S. Gen. Dunford
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia presents the greatest threat to U.S. national security and its behavior is “nothing short of alarming,” Marine General Joseph Dunford, the nominee to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at his Senate confirm…
Pakistani provincial mines minister arrested on suspicion of graft
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Authorities in northwestern Pakistan arrested a provincial minister for mines and minerals on suspicion of embezzlement, the government’s anti-corruption commission said on Thursday.
Thai police say key DNA evidence in murders of Britons has been lost
KOH SAMUI (Reuters) – Thai police said on Thursday some key DNA evidence in the trial of two men for the murders of two British tourists had been lost or “finished” and so could not be retested as the defense has demanded.
Jet Airways flight diverted to Oman after bomb threat
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Dubai made an emergency landing in Oman after a bomb threat, the Indian airline said. All 61 passengers and crew were evacuated on arrival.
As Iraq splinters, Kurds’ own unity put to test
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Their common enemy is Islamic State, but Iraq’s Kurds are preoccupied by a struggle within their autonomous region, where political parties are jousting over the presidency and their supporters are invoking an old civil war.
Investing in science can be ‘the game changer’ for development: experts
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Investing up to 3.5 percent of a nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in science, technology and innovation can be “the game changer” for development, leading experts said on Thursday.
Thai PM defends decision to send Uighurs back to China
BANGKOK/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Thailand’s prime minister defended on Thursday a decision to forcibly return nearly 100 Uighur Muslim migrants to China despite rights groups’ fears they could face ill-treatment, saying it was not Bangkok’s fault if they s…
Nigerian church rejects coroner report on building collapse
LAGOS (Reuters) – A Nigerian megachurch run by one of Africa’s best known preachers, TB Joshua, has dismissed a coroner’s ruling that it should be prosecuted over a building collapse last year in which 115 people, most of them South Africans, were kill…
Kremlin critics say ‘climate of fear’ grows in Russia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin critics say a climate of fear is growing in Russia after the upper house of parliament drew up a list of “undesirable” civil rights organizations and two similar groups decided to close.
