Taiwan orders all airlines to check safety after bad test results
TAIPEI (Reuters) – The Taiwan government ordered all airlines to review safety protocols on Wednesday after nearly half of the pilots trained to fly TransAsia’s ATR twin-engined aircraft were suspended following last week’s fatal crash in the capital.
China’s Xi to make first state visit to U.S. as both flag problems
BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to the United States in September, China said on Wednesday, after both countries’ leaders laid out possible areas of friction in a telephone call.
Gunmen in Central Africa Republic free kidnapped government minister
BANGUI (Reuters) – Gunmen in Central African Republic have freed the minister for youth and sport who was kidnapped in January, the minister’s spokesman said on Wednesday.
Filipino nurse from Saudi Arabia tests positive for MERS virus
MANILA (Reuters) – A Filipino nurse, who arrived last week from Saudi Arabia, has tested positive for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the first case of the deadly virus in the Philippines, the health ministry said on Wednes…
Police seize possible Leonardo da Vinci painting in Switzerland
ROME (Reuters) – Police have seized a portrait attributed to Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci from the vault of a Swiss bank during an investigation into tax crime and insurance fraud, an Italian court said on Tuesday.
Shell hits bus station in Donetsk, at least one killed
DONETSK (Reuters) – At least one person was killed on Wednesday when a shell hit a bus station in the center of rebel-controlled Donetsk city, east Ukraine, a Reuters witness said.
Britain withdraws embassy staff from Yemen over security concerns
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain has withdrawn staff from its embassy in Yemen and temporarily suspended operations there over security concerns, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday, a day after the United States shut its embassy.
‘Contact Group’ on Ukraine to hold talks in Minsk on Wednesday: Belarus
MINSK (Reuters) – A meeting of the so-called Contact Group on Ukraine will resume talks on the conflict in the Belarussian capital Minsk on Wednesday, Belarus’ Foreign Ministry said.
Al Qaeda supporters in Yemen pledge allegiance to Islamic State: group
DUBAI (Reuters) – A group of Islamist fighters in Yemen renounced their loyalty to al Qaeda’s leader and pledged allegiance to the head of the Islamic State, according to a Twitter message retrieved by U.S.-based monitoring group SITE.
Critics of former Thai PM try to discredit her with escape rumors: lawyer
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Opponents of former Thai leader Yingluck Shinawatra were trying to discredit her by spreading false rumors that she would flee abroad before she is due to face criminal charges in court later this month, her lawyer said on Wednesday…
