Senators seek U.S. strategy to stop China’s South China Sea reclamation
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Leading U.S. senators expressed alarm on Thursday at the scale and speed of China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea and said a formal U.S. strategy was needed to slow or stop the work.
EU agrees Russia sanctions to stay until Ukraine peace terms met
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders agreed on Thursday that economic sanctions imposed on Russia will stay in place until a Ukraine peace deal is fully implemented, effectively extending them to the end of the year if need be.
Netanyahu poised for governing coalition after final vote tally
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to lead a heavily right-leaning coalition government with control of 67 of parliament’s 120 seats, according to final election results released on Thursday.
Russia, China, others snub U.N. meeting on Crimea human rights
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia, China, Venezuela and Angola snubbed an informal United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday on human rights in Crimea a year after Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine, diplomats said.
U.N. peacekeepers previously supported blacklisted Congo generals
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. peacekeepers previously worked with two Democratic Republic of Congo generals accused of abuses, but have refused to support the men in a new campaign against Rwandan rebels because Congolese authorities did not investig…
Sierra Leone president replaces sacked deputy with ex-ambassador
FREETOWN (Reuters) – Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma swore in his new deputy on Thursday though the ousted vice president has pledged to challenge his removal in court.
U.S. embassy in Djibouti closes for day to review security
NAIROBI (Reuters) – The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti closed its doors to the public on Thursday to review security in the tiny Horn of Africa state that hosts an American military base, the embassy said in a statement posted on its website.
EU ties lifting Russia sanctions to full Ukraine peace accord
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to link lifting economic sanctions on Russia to the full implementation of a Ukraine ceasefire agreement, European Council President Donald Tusk announced.
No Iraq request for coalition air support in Tikrit campaign
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq has not requested air support from the U.S.-led coalition for its campaign to retake Tikrit from Islamic State insurgents, a senior military official in the coalition said on Thursday, as the assault on the city remained on…
For Hong Kong, a chill sets in as rich China tourists shop elsewhere
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese tourists are rapidly deserting Hong Kong, leaving retailers who built businesses around once insatiable demand from mainland neighbors with bigger but emptier stores and squeezing the whole city’s visitor-dependent economy…
