China denies hundreds of Chinese nationals trapped in Myanmar
YANGON (Reuters) – More than 100 Chinese citizens trapped by fighting between government troops and insurgents in northern Myanmar, have been arrested and are being held by the Myanmar government, a Chinese embassy spokesman in Yangon said on Tuesday.
UK minister says deplores Saudi activist’s flogging, plans to raise matter
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain deplores the flogging of a blogger in Saudi Arabia and will raise concerns about the case with the country’s deputy foreign minister this week, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka prime minister vows democracy after authoritarian past
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday said the new government will restore democratic checks and balances after a decade of increasingly authoritarian rule under former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Israel’s Arabs stage general strike to protest police violence
RAHAT, Israel (Reuters) – Israel’s large Arab minority closed shops and schools from the northern Galilee to the southern Negev desert on Tuesday as part of a day-long strike to protest against the death of two Arab men in incidents involving Israeli p…
Yazidis freed by Islamic State enjoy bittersweet homecoming
LALESH, Iraq (Reuters) – The Yazidi family mourned her death, assuming she had been killed by Islamic State militants or exposure to the blistering summer sun in northwest Iraq, but 15-year-old Suad Shaker Qassem was still alive.
Thai anti-graft body charges ex-commerce minister over rice deal
BANGKOK (Reuters) – A former commerce minister and 20 state officials and employees of private firms will be charged for alleged graft related to rice export deals with two Chinese firms, Thailand’s anti-corruption commission said on Tuesday.
Brawl in Nepal parliament as clock ticks on new constitution
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – At least three security marshals were injured in a brawl that broke out in Nepal’s parliament early on Tuesday, with opposition legislators climbing on their chairs and throwing microphones and shoes in a heated debate over the Hi…
Senior Libyan oil official missing: ministry
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – A senior Libyan oil official has been missing since Thursday, a spokesman for state-run National Oil Corporation (NOC) and his ministry said on Tuesday after what was a possible kidnapping.
Dutch court blocks extradition to U.S. over torture concerns
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch court on Tuesday blocked the extradition of a man accused of having fought against U.S. troops in Afghanistan, saying it could not be ruled out that the CIA had been involved in his torture after his arrest in Pakistan.
China ‘has the power’ to introduce tough security laws in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Former Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa said on Tuesday tough Chinese national security laws could be introduced in Hong Kong, stoking fears China may tighten control in its southern financial hub after last year’s pro-democracy str…
