Greece to hold elections in January if president vote fails: PM
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece will hold snap general elections in January if parliament fails to elect a president this month, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Thursday as he called on all lawmakers to avert a national crisis by supporting his candid…
India judge sends Uber rape suspect to custody for two weeks
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – An Indian court sent the Uber taxi driver accused of raping a young passenger to judicial custody for two weeks after the attack in New Delhi led the government to request a nationwide ban on the popular U.S. online cab company.
Three more Ukrainian soldiers killed as truce frays: Kiev military
KIEV (Reuters) – Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours, a military spokesman said on Thursday, further marring a truce which began with a “Day of Silence” on Tuesday.
Greek judicial panel orders ex-finance minister to stand trial
ATHENS (Reuters) – A Greek judicial panel has ruled that former finance minister George Papaconstantinou must stand trial on charges related to a scandal over a list of potential tax evaders that caused outrage among crisis-hit Greeks.
Malaysia summons U.S. ambassador over comments on Sedition Act
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has summoned the U.S. ambassador after he questioned a government decision to strengthen a law against sedition, which critics say has been used to crack down on government detractors, despite an earlier promise to scr…
Myanmar suspects in British tourist murders plead for Suu Kyi’s help
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Two Myanmar men charged with murdering two British tourists in Thailand have written to Nobel Peace laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi pleading for help, protesting their innocence and claiming to have been “scapegoated” by Thai police.
U.N. says rich nations pledge to take 100,000 Syrian refugees
GENEVA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday that Western governments had heeded a call to take in more Syrian refugees from neighboring countries and estimated that, in all, more than 100,000 places would be offered in…
China police search for missing Vietnamese brides: paper
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Police in northern China are investigating the disappearance of more than 100 Vietnamese women who had been sold as wives to Chinese men via a broker who is also missing, the China Daily reported on Thursday.
UK lawmakers say want China envoy summoned over Hong Kong ban
LONDON (Reuters) – A group of senior British lawmakers said on Wednesday that China’s refusal to allow them to visit Hong Kong was an insult and called on the government to formally summon China’s ambassador over the issue.
China energy officials urged to educate families to avoid graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese energy officials must educate their children and spouses to shun corruption, China’s energy administration said on Thursday, taking aim at the practice of corrupt officials stashing ill-gotten gains with relatives.
