Maoist rebels pose ‘minimal’ risk to Philippine typhoon rescue mission
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine rescue teams were struggling on Wednesday to reach upland communities on an eastern island which took the brunt of a typhoon at the weekend amid security fears in an area known as a hotbed of Maoist insurgents.
UAE court convicts 11 for helping al Qaeda affiliate: papers
DUBAI (Reuters) – A United Arab Emirates (UAE) court convicted 11 men including UAE, Syrian and Comoros nationals of helping to form an al Qaeda affiliate and sending fighters to join Syrian rebel groups, newspapers reported on Wednesday.
India clamps down on unregistered taxis after Uber rape claim
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India ordered state governments to halt the operations of all unregistered, web-based taxi companies on Tuesday after a female passenger reported she was raped in New Delhi by a driver contracted to U.S. cab company Uber.
Strict new Japan secrets law takes effect amid protests
TOKYO (Reuters) – Waving banners and banging tambourines, hundreds of Japanese took to the streets of Tokyo to protest a strict new state-secrets law which took effect on Wednesday that critics charge will help conceal government misdeeds and limit pre…
Japan’s looming benefit cuts an unspoken, unsettling election theme
TOKYO (Reuters) – Hiroko Shinohara frets about one issue Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has noticeably avoided on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday’s election: the need to cut Japan’s generous social welfare program that supports millions of people.
Venezuela president blasts ‘insolent’ sanctions vote by U.S. Senate
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday night railed against the U.S. Senate for passing a bill that would impose sanctions on government officials found to have violated protesters’ rights during demonstrations earlier this…
Tension mounts in Haiti as clock ticks on electoral impasse
MIAMI/PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – The Obama administration and the United Nations are pressuring Haiti’s government to resolve a long-festering dispute over postponed elections in the face of anti-government protests across the impoverished Caribbean co…
Ukraine accuses rebels of violating ‘Day of Silence’; Russian gas flows resume
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military accused separatists of violating an agreed “Day of Silence” in the country’s embattled east on Tuesday, an initiative that was seen as an attempt to forge a durable ceasefire paving the way to a new round of peace ta…
Governments turn up the heat on atheists: report
GENEVA (Reuters) – Amid a global decline in religious belief, some governments are stepping up efforts to portray atheists and secularists as a danger to society and even as terrorists, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
French reform bill a major test for a weakened Hollande
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Socialist government will propose on Wednesday a reform bill which is crucial for avoiding EU sanctions but risks being watered down by lawmakers angry with President Francois Hollande’s deregulation drive.
