Putin says Russia’s actions in Crimea prevented conflict: RIA news agency
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s decisive actions in Crimea a year ago were to prevent a conflict similar to the one that followed later in east Ukraine, the state agency RIA Novosti reported on Thursday.
Australia probes claim teenager was Iraq suicide bomber
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian authorities are investigating claims by Islamic State that an Australian teenage recruit died after blowing himself up in Iraq, and local media reported that bomb-making materials had been found at his family home in Melbo…
U.N. official calls China’s crackdown on Uighurs ‘disturbing’
GENEVA (Reuters) – A U.N. human rights investigator criticized on Wednesday China’s crackdown on Muslim Uighurs in the far western region of Xinjiang, citing “disturbing stories” of harassment and intimidation against the ethnic minority.
Indonesia signals unlikely to carry out executions for at least 16 days
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia signaled on Thursday that it was not likely to execute foreigners on death row for at least the next 16 days after the attorney general’s office said that a group of 10 convicts would be executed together.
India’s Sonia Gandhi marches to support ex-PM Singh in court summons
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The top leadership of India’s Congress party including its enigmatic president Sonia Gandhi walked to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s home on Thursday in a unusual display of support after he was summoned to court in a corr…
Poland to hold countrywide defense drills: president’s adviser
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland will stress-test its defense capabilities with a series of countrywide drills involving the government, local authorities and the military in response to the Ukraine crisis, Polish president’s chief security adviser said.
Putin delays Kazakh visit, no health problems says Kremlin
(Corrects second paragraph to show meeting scheduled for this week)
After crackdown on students, Myanmar’s will to reform questioned
YANGON (Reuters) – A student march through central Myanmar in protest against a new education law began as an unremarkable procession from the country’s seat of learning and culture, Mandalay, to the commercial hub of Yangon.
China’s top judge reproaches courts for miscarriages of justice
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top judge on Thursday issued a mea culpa for miscarriages of justice that have drawn public ire, calling for increased transparency of the courts in an annual report to the largely rubber-stamp parliament.
China to ‘refresh’ policy on visitors to Hong Kong
BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese government will “refresh” its policy on granting entry permits to its citizens wishing to visit the separately administered territory of Hong Kong, a state-run paper said on Thursday, amid mounting anger at hordes of mai…
