Indonesia rejects clemency for two of Australian ‘Bali Nine’ drug offenders
DENPASAR, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesia on Thursday rejected pleas for clemency for two Australians convicted of drug offences and is expected to go ahead with their executions, a move bound to strain already fragile ties between the two countries.
Egypt’s high court orders re-trial of policemen linked to 37 deaths
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s highest appeals court ordered a re-trial on Thursday for four policemen in connection with the deaths of 37 people during political violence after President Mohamed Mursi’s ouster, the judge said.
Exclusive: India asks refiners to cut Iran oil imports ahead of Obama visit – sources
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has asked its refiners to slash oil buys from Iran in the next two months to keep the imports in line with the previous fiscal year’s levels, sources with knowledge of the matter said, days ahead of President Barack Obama’s …
Politics and rivalry shape Iranian response to Paris attack
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The deadly attack by Islamist gunmen on the offices of French newspaper Charlie Hebdo drew a somewhat unexpected response from Iranian clerics and officials: They condemned it.
Malta rescues 80 migrants, 20 feared dead
VALLETTA (Reuters) – A Maltese patrol boat rescued about 80 migrants in a drifting dinghy off the island early on Thursday, but another 20 people were feared to have perished.
‘Dama’ queens: China investigates ‘auntie demolition team’
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese police are investigating reports that middle-aged women were paid 200 yuan ($32) each to demolish homes for a new development, a government official said on Thursday, sparking anger about one of the country’s most common cau…
Iranian vice president under Ahmadinejad jailed for five years
DUBAI (Reuters) – An Iranian politician who served as vice-president under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sentenced to five years in jail and fined, Iranian state media reported.
Prosecutors won’t indict former Tepco execs over Fukushima
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese prosecutors have stuck to their decision not to indict three former Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) executives over their handling of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, but a rarely used citizen’s panel could still force an indictm…
Iraq ‘months off’ major IS offensive, says UK’s Hammond before London meeting
LONDON (Reuters) – Iraqi forces are months away from being able to launch proper combat operations against Islamic State (IS), Britain’s foreign minister warned on Thursday, hours before hosting a London meeting of the U.S.-led coalition against the mi…
Indonesian divers recover bodies from near crashed AirAsia jet fuselage
ABOARD KRI BANDA ACEH (Reuters) – Indonesian divers on Thursday found six bodies near the fuselage of an AirAsia jet that crashed last month into the Java Sea, but were unable to enter the wreckage where most of the victims are believed to be trapped, …
