China says thousands arrested suspected of environmental crimes
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese police arrested thousands of people suspected of environmental crimes last year, a minister told parliament on Monday, as the world’s most populous country vows to get serious on protecting the environment.
Boom in ‘voluntourism’ sparks concerns over whether the industry is doing good
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Rapid growth in the multi-billion dollar volunteer tourism industry has prompted calls for tighter controls with concerns over exposing vulnerable communities to unskilled foreign labor and dodgy operators exploiti…
Lebanese man pleads guilty in Cyprus ammonium ‘plot’
NICOSIA (Reuters) – A Lebanese-Canadian man accused of stockpiling explosives in Cyprus pleaded guilty on Monday in a case that Israel said bore the hallmarks of a failed Hezbollah plot.
Myanmar replaces senior air force officer after stray China bomb
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar has replaced a high ranking air force officer, officials said on Monday, in a move that was seen as a response to China’s anger over stray bomb that fell in Chinese territory and killed four farmers three months ago.
India’s next weapon against climate change? The heat-tolerant dwarf cow
THIRUVANANDHAPURAM, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Worsening heat, fodder shortages and the threat of drought are forcing many hard-hit dairy farmers in the Anantapur area of India’s southern Kerala state to reduce their herds, experts say.
Ruling in Egypt trial of Jazeera journalists set for July 30
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court said on Monday it would issue a ruling on July 30 in the retrial of two Al Jazeera television journalists previously sentenced to seven to 10 years in prison.
A nuclear deal could sharpen political tensions in Iran
VIENNA (Reuters) – A final deal to resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute could heighten domestic political tensions with two major elections looming in the Islamic Republic, analysts and officials said.
U.S. ‘deeply concerned’ after former Lesotho army chief killed
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The United States said on Monday it was “deeply concerned” after Lesotho’s former army chief was shot dead last week, an incident that risks sparking instability in a small mountainous kingdom of strategic importance to South A…
Israel approves extending fortified fence on its Jordan border
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s security cabinet has approved extending the fortified fence along its Egyptian border into a section of the frontier with neighboring Jordan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
South Africa’s govt to appeal court ruling over Bashir
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s government will challenge a high court ruling that found the state erred in letting Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir leave the country despite a court order barring him from doing so.
