Philippine Catholic Church struggles with social costs of labour migration
MANILA (Reuters) – Almost 5,000 Filipinos left their homes every day between 2010 and 2013 to seek work overseas, government data shows, most hoping to provide an education for their children and to meet the most basic needs of their families.
China investigates 32 for graft linked to Xinjiang Muslim pilgrims
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is investigating 32 officials from the western region of Xinjiang for graft linked to pilgrimages by Muslims to Mecca, state media said on Thursday.
Taiwan’s Chu to take over ruling party, seen balancing China policy
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Eric Chu will take over as leader of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) on Saturday, inheriting an unpopular party seen as favoring big business and the mainland at a time of growing scepticism about ties with Beijing.
Millions of followers, and a storm, await Pope Francis in the Philippines
MANILA (Reuters) – Security fears and a potential storm have Philippine leaders on edge ahead of the arrival on Thursday of Pope Francis on his first visit to Asia’s largest Catholic nation, where millions of people are expected to attend public events…
Obama, Cameron vow to stand firm against Islamist extremists
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron vowed a united front on Wednesday against the threat posed by Islamist extremists and their “distorted ideology.”
Five Yemenis transferred from U.S. custody at Guantanamo: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon transferred five Yemenis held at Guantanamo prison to foreign custody on Wednesday in the first handover of detainees in 2015, sending four to Oman and one to Estonia despite Republican calls for a moratorium on the …
Pope leaves post-war Sri Lanka after preaching reconciliation
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Pope Francis started the second leg of his Asia tour on Thursday, departing from Sri Lanka after a two-day visit in which he preached a message of reconciliation between the country’s different religious groups to huge crowds.
Rights groups urge Thailand to end project that sends prisoners to sea
BANGKOK (Reuters) – More than a dozen rights groups urged Thailand on Thursday to end a project to recruit prisoners to work on fishing boats, saying it would not address problems in the fishing industry and posed a serious threat to prisoners’ rights….
China investigates Shanghai officials’ lavish banquet before stampede: Xinhua
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Authorities in Shanghai are investigating allegations that officials attended an opulent riverfront banquet on New Year’s Eve hours before dozens of people were trampled to death nearby, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Exclusive: U.S. lawmakers push ahead on Iran sanctions – senior senator
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers will press ahead with a plan for more sanctions on Iran, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday, despite White House warnings that they risked derailing n…
