Rajapaksa ‘ready for struggle’ in Sri Lanka comeback bid
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed on Tuesday to reclaim power in a general election, eight months after he was ousted as president, saying he was “ready for struggle” against an international war crimes investigation…
Obama heads to African Union at end of tour to build ties
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Barack Obama toured a U.S.-supported food factory in Ethiopia on Tuesday on the last leg of an Africa trip, before winding up his visit at the African Union where he will become the first U.S. president to address the 54-nation …
Japan approves increase in Fukushima compensation to $57 billion
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan on Tuesday approved an increase in compensation payments for the Fukushima crisis to 7.07 trillion yen ($57.18 billion), as tens of thousands of evacuees remain in temporary housing more than four years after the disaster.
Cavorting, snorting British peer quits House of Lords
LONDON (Reuters) – A senior British peer said on Tuesday he was leaving the House of Lords, Britain’s unelected upper parliamentary chamber, after a newspaper published a video which it said showed him using cocaine and cavorting with prostitutes.
Bangladesh police arrest eight in crackdown on Islamist groups
DHAKA (Reuters) – Police in Bangladesh have arrested eight suspected militants, including the chief of the outlawed Jamaat-ul Mujahideen group, as authorities step up a crackdown on hardline Islamists.
Attack halts flow in natural gas pipeline from Iran to Turkey
ANKARA (Reuters) – Saboteurs attacked a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran to Turkey in Turkey’s eastern province of Agri late on Monday, halting the flow, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and state gas company Botas said.
Rescuers find 13 dead migrants on packed boat off Libyan coast
ROME (Reuters) – Rescuers found 13 dead migrants on a boat off the coast of Libya with more than 500 others aboard, an Italian coast guard spokesman said on Tuesday, giving no details about how they had died.
Thailand aims for upgrade from U.S. trafficking blacklist next year: PM
BANGKOK/CHIANG MAI, Thailand (Reuters) – Thailand is working flat out to combat human trafficking, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday, adding he hoped Thailand would be lifted from a U.S. list of worst human trafficking centers next year….
China says not planning military bases in the Maldives
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is not planning to build military bases on the Maldives, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after the Maldives allowed foreigners to own land despite opposition concern the reform could be used for military expansion by Chi…
El Salvador bus drivers go on strike as gang violence surges
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – El Salvador’s bus drivers went on strike on Monday, demanding better security in the wake of escalating gang attacks and leaving thousands of commuters stranded on the streets of the Central American capital.
