U.N. chief Ban says North Korea retracts approval for visit
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday his plan to go to North Korea this week to visit an industrial complex had been scrapped after Pyongyang retracted its earlier approval, calling the decision “deeply regrettable”.
Venezuela parliament head Cabello denies drug accusations
CARACAS (Reuters) – The Venezuelan government’s second most powerful figure, Diosdado Cabello, denied on Tuesday any involvement in the drug trade after U.S. media reports that he and other officials were under investigation for trafficking and money l…
Japan approves third nuclear plant for restart
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s nuclear regulator signed off on the basic safety of a reactor at a third nuclear plant on Wednesday, as the country inches toward rebooting its atomic industry more than four years after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Gunfight in blood-soaked western Mexican state kills at least eight
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – At least eight people died in a shootout between Mexican federal police and suspected gang members in the troubled western state of Jalisco, a government official said on Tuesday.
Over 100 ‘boat people’ land in Indonesia, hundreds more sighted at sea
LANGSA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesian fishermen brought more than 100 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants to shore in northwestern Aceh province early on Wednesday, a search and rescue official said.
Venezuela’s parliament boss blasts report of drug trafficking
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s powerful parliamentary chief, Diosdado Cabello, on Tuesday slammed a Wall Street Journal report that U.S. authorities are investigating him and other senior officials for possible cocaine trafficking and money laundering…
Iraq deploys tanks as Islamic State tightens grip on Ramadi
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces on Tuesday deployed tanks and artillery around Ramadi to confront Islamic State fighters who have captured the city in a major defeat for the Baghdad government and its Western backers.
Fifteen people missing in Mexican state where 43 students massacred
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Fifteen people have disappeared from the violent southwestern Mexican state where 43 trainee teachers were feared massacred last year, the state attorney general’s office said on Tuesday.
With nuclear deal in sight, Iran drives harder bargain in Indian trade talks
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Iranian trade negotiators have become more assertive with Indian counterparts as hopes rise of international sanctions on Tehran easing later this year, sources said, and Indian companies fear they may lose business as more countr…
U.S. willing to change pro-democracy programs in Cuba
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday indicated its willingness to change pro-democracy programs which it organizes in Cuba and which are condemned by Havana, removing one of the biggest impediments to restoring diplomatic ties.
