Controversial Hong Kong media tycoon’s home firebombed
HONG KONG (Reuters) – The home and former offices of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing who also played a prominent role in large pro-democracy protests last month, were firebombed early on Monday, a spokesman said.
South Korean president says open to summit with North’s Kim, no pre-condition
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday she was willing to hold a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un without any pre-condition but maintained the country still needed an anti-North security law.
Shanghai cancels iconic lantern festival after New Year stampede
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s cosmopolitan financial center of Shanghai has canceled a two-decade old lantern festival held at its central Yu Garden, over safety concerns sparked by a New Year’s Eve stampede that led to the deaths of 36 people.
Croatian opposition wins presidency, sets sights on government
ZAGREB (Reuters) – Croatia’s conservative opposition won a narrow presidential victory on Sunday, capitalizing on popular discontent over economic decline and setting down a marker for parliamentary elections later in the year.
Korean-born American deported from South Korea for praising North
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday an anti-North Korea law was needed because the two countries remained technically at war, after a Korean-American was deported to the United States under the law for making positive …
NATO’s Stoltenberg sees slight improvement in eastern Ukraine: paper
BERLIN (Reuters) – Fighting between Kiev’s forces and pro-Russian rebels has eased in eastern Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was quoted on Monday as saying, although he voiced concern about the risks to local people.
China arrests over 110 people for selling contaminated pork
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has arrested more than 110 people, suspected of selling pork from pigs that died from disease, and confiscated more than 1,000 tonnes of contaminated pork in its latest crackdown on food safety violations.
Iraq may need three years to restructure and rebuild military: PM
CAIRO (Reuters) – Iraq may need three years to rebuild and restructure its military, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday, as the country battles Islamic State militants who pose the biggest threat to its security since the fall of Saddam Huss…
French, foreign leaders walk arm-in-arm as millions protest Paris attacks
PARIS (Reuters) – World leaders including Muslim and Jewish statesmen linked arms to lead more than a million French citizens through Paris in an unprecedented march to pay tribute to victims of Islamist militant attacks.
Indonesia confident AirAsia fuselage discovered, zero in on black box
PANGKALAN BUN/JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian search teams believe they have found the fuselage of an AirAsia airliner that crashed in the Java Sea two weeks ago, and divers hope calmer waters on Monday will allow them to retrieve the black box flight r…