Japan education minister denies illegal funds report
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s education minister denied on Thursday a report by a weekly magazine that he illegally received political funds, just days after the farm minister resigned over similar allegations.
Ukraine heaps on economic pressure as central bank confuses, truce takes hold
KIEV/MAKIYVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine came under greater economic pressure after unexpectedly banning most currency trading and then abruptly reversing course, wreaking havoc on the hryvnia, just as a truce in the east took hold on Wednesday with …
Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew still in intensive care-statement
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s first prime minister and the man widely credited with the city-state’s economic success, Lee Kuan Yew, is still on mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit in hospital, the prime minister’s office said on Thurs…
‘Stay tuned’ as China readies to publish corruption confessions
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ruling Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog has opened a new front in its campaign against corruption, announcing it will publish confessions by corrupt officials to warn and educate others.
Colombia peace deal should ensure criminals held to account: Annan
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Those responsible for crimes committed during Colombia’s 50-year war must be held accountable as part of a peace deal between the government and Marxist rebels, ex-United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday.
U.S. condemns Islamic State attacks on Christian villages in Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday condemned recent attacks by Islamic State militants on Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria, which it said included the burning of homes and churches and abduction of women, children an…
Abused, imprisoned Vietnamese slave away in UK’s cannabis farms
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Criminal defense lawyer Philippa Southwell points to the thick ring binders that line her desk in a small office above a bookie’s and fast food joint in south London.
Protests continue in Venezuela as teen shot by police is buried
SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) – Sporadic protests flared in different parts of Venezuela on Wednesday, a day after a policeman shot dead a teenager during a demonstration against President Nicolas Maduro’s government in the volatile city of San Cr…
Syrian Kurds cut IS supply line near Iraq; fears for Christians mount
BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – Kurdish militia pressed an offensive against Islamic State in northeast Syria on Wednesday, cutting one of its supply lines from Iraq, as fears mounted for dozens of Christians abducted by the hardline group.
Ukraine heaps on economic pressure as central bank confuses, truce takes hold
KIEV/MAKIYVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine came under greater economic pressure after unexpectedly banning most currency trading and then abruptly reversing course, wreaking havoc on the hryvnia, just as a truce in the east took hold on Wednesday with …
