Putin’s confrontation with West ‘artificial’: dissident Khodorkovsky
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s confrontation with the West is “artificial” and aimed at protecting Russia’s ruling elite and distracting attention from a corrupt system, a former Russian oil tycoon said on Wednesday.
Islamic State car bombs kill or injure 50 in Yemeni capital
SANAA/GENEVA (Reuters) – Car bombs killed or injured at least 50 people near mosques and the headquarters of Yemen’s dominant Houthi group in Sanaa on Wednesday, in coordinated attacks claimed by Islamic State.
Four hurt in knife attack at Chinese market: police
BEIJING (Reuters) – A knife-wielding man injured four people, including one seriously, in southern China’s Guangxi region on Thursday, police said, the latest in a series of such attacks that have raised public concern.
World’s displaced hits record high of 60 million, half of them children: U.N.
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Almost 60 million people worldwide were forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution at the end of last year, the highest ever recorded number, the U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday.
China says will welcome only anti-independence candidate for Taiwan president
BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Thursday said it would welcome only an anti-independence candidate at Taiwan’s presidential election in January, offering its first comment on the likely contender for the island’s pro-China ruling Nationalist Party.
Russia unlikely to introduce new sanctions, will extend food embargo: RIA
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is unlikely to introduce new sanctions in retaliation for EU decisions, Russian Economy Minister Alexei Uluykayev said on Thursday, adding that Moscow was most likely to extend a food embargo.
Security concerns limit Syrian refugees coming to U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – While the exodus from Syria has become the world’s biggest refugee crisis, the United States is being criticized by relief organizations and some within President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party for allowing only a limited flow i…
Israel accuses U.N. children’s rights envoy of ‘improper conduct’
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Israel has accused a senior U.N. official of misconduct in preparing a report that harshly criticized the Israeli army over the 2014 Gaza war while leaving it off a blacklist of states and armed groups that violate children’s…
Tanzania’s female politicians trained to campaign, avoid sexual pitfalls
DAR ES SALAAM (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Aspiring politician Asha Salum is busy trying to convince people in her area of Dar Es Salaam to support her candidacy for a council position at elections later this year, one of a growing number of women seeking political office in Tanzania.
South Korea parliament approves Park’s pick for PM after scandal
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s parliament approved President Park Geun-hye’s choice for prime minister on Thursday after the incumbent stepped down following an allegation he accepted illegal campaign funds from a businessman.
