China slams ASEAN chief for South China Sea comments
BEIJING (Reuters) – China expressed anger on Wednesday at the Vietnamese head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for comments he made on the disputed South China Sea, rejecting Chinese claims based on the so-called nine-dash line.
Russia may ease Ukraine’s gas terms, but Kiev must settle its bills
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia may ease the terms of its gas supplies to Ukraine but Kiev will have to pay for the gas Moscow is supplying to rebel-held areas of east Ukraine, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.
Russia says ready for talks on a new European arms treaty
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is ready to hold talks on a new agreement to control conventional arms in Europe, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday, after Russia announced the end of its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed F…
Myanmar opposition demands inquiry into police clashes with students
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) demanded an inquiry on Wednesday into clashes between police protesters in which students, monks and journalists were beaten with batons and more than 100 people were arrested….
Japan accepts just 11 asylum seekers from record 5,000 applying in 2014
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan accepted 11 asylum seekers out of a record 5,000 applications in 2014, Ministry of Justice data showed, drawing criticism from advocates and lawyers that the country is not doing enough to provide protection to refugees.
Japan slams ex-PM Hatoyama’s Crimea visit
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government sharply criticized a former prime minister on Wednesday for his visit to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, saying his action is at odds with Japan’s stance on the Ukraine situation and calling him “grossly imp…
South African television reporter mugged on camera
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Two men, one armed with a gun, were caught on camera late on Tuesday mugging a South African journalist as he prepared for a live television report on Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s hospital treatment.
Bangladesh police stood close by during U.S. blogger attack: victim’s wife
DHAKA (Reuters) – The wife of an American blogger and critic of religious extremism who was hacked to death in Dhaka last month said that police stood nearby when the couple were attacked on a university campus in the Bangladesh capital.
Chinese shoe factory workers strike over benefits
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – About 5,000 workers have gone on strike at a shoe manufacturer in southern China over benefits, two activists and a worker said, marking one of the biggest work-stoppages in the country in months.
Iraqi troops, militia retake strategic town north of Tikrit from Islamic State
AL-ALAM, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi troops and militias drove Islamic State insurgents out of the town of al-Alam on Tuesday, clearing a final hurdle before a planned assault on Saddam Hussein’s home city of Tikrit in their biggest offensive yet against th…
