China protests at Indian PM’s visit to disputed border region
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has lodged an official protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to a border region claimed by both countries.
Singapore’s first prime minister hospitalized with pneumonia
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s first prime minister and the man widely credited with the city state’s economic success, Lee Kuan Yew, is in hospital with severe pneumonia.
Ten workers killed in Abu Dhabi building fire: newspaper
RIYADH (Reuters) – A tire shop fire in Abu Dhabi late on Friday killed 10 foreign workers and injured eight others who were living in an upstairs apartment, the local Gulf News reported on Saturday.
Hundreds evacuated after fire at Dubai skyscraper
DUBAI (Reuters) – Hundreds of people in Dubai were evacuated from one of the world’s tallest residential buildings on Saturday when fire swept through The Torch, a 79-story skyscraper, residents said.
Death toll from attack on Somali hotel rises to 25
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – The death toll in Friday’s bombing of a hotel in the Somali capital has risen to 25, including two lawmakers and workers from the prime minister’s office, the government said on Saturday.
Yemen ex-president released from house arrest
SANAA (Reuters) – Former Yemen president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi left his home on Saturday for the first time since the Houthi militia stormed it in late January and put him under house arrest, prompting his resignation, witnesses said.
Australia prepares for floods in aftermath of major cyclones
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia (Reuters) – Australia braced on Saturday for heavy rains and floods after weather authorities downgraded two cyclones that lashed its north and northeast, damaging homes and snapping power links, but there were no reports of casu…
New U.S. defense chief silent on date of Mosul offensive
KABUL (Reuters) – New U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday he would not telegraph the precise timing of an upcoming Iraqi offensive to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State militants, after a U.S. military briefing caused an uproar….
Venezuela indicts opposition mayor on charges of conspiring
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela on Friday indicted a veteran Caracas mayor on charges of plotting violence against President Nicolas Maduro’s government and ordered he be jailed in a military prison pending trial.
Russian Finance Minister says Moody’s downgrade had ‘political character’
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Moody’s downgrade of Russia’s sovereign rating was based on “factors of a political character,” Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said early on Saturday following news that Moody’s had cut the rating to below investment grade….
