U.S. urges Japan to be ‘bold’ in Pacific trade pact talks
TOKYO (Reuters) – The time is “ripe” for Japan and the United States to reach a breakthrough in talks for a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, the U.S. commerce secretary said on Tuesday, adding that the two were “a lot closer” to a deal than in rec…
Australia drops investigation into Indonesia ‘Balibo Five’ murders
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police said on Tuesday they were dropping a long-running war crimes investigation into the deaths of five Australian journalists, killed during Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 1975.
Australia set to help China seize assets of corrupt Chinese officials: reports
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police have agreed to assist China in the extradition and seizure of assets of corrupt Chinese officials who have fled with hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit funds, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported.
Indonesian president ponders some cabinet picks on anti-graft concern
JAKARTA (Reuters) – New Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday he was re-evaluating some of his choices for cabinet jobs after an anti-graft agency raised concern about possible problems with some candidates.
Exclusive: Iran offers ‘compromises’ in nuclear talks, West unmoved
ANKARA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Iran is pushing what it portrays as a new compromise proposal in nuclear talks, but Western negotiators say it offers no viable concessions, underscoring how far apart the two sides are as they enter crunch time before a Nov. 24 deadline.
Despite costly U.S. effort, Afghan poppy cultivation hits new high
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan hit an all-time high in 2013 despite years of counter-narcotics efforts that have cost the United States $7.6 billion, the U.S. government watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction spending sa…
China likely to close ‘gift’ loophole in corruption fight
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s largely rubber stamp parliament is likely to close a loophole when it meets next week to ban officials from getting around corruption allegations by claiming money received was simply a gift, a state-run newspaper said on Tu…
Canada police kill ‘radicalized’ driver after he rams two soldiers
OTTAWA/MONTREAL (Reuters) – A Canadian man who was killed by police on Monday after trying to run over two soldiers in Quebec “had become radicalized,” the government said after the first such incident in Canada since the country joined the fight again…
Panama arrests supreme court judge on suspicion of corruption
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – A Panamanian supreme court judge who previously headed the tribunal has been placed under house arrest and suspended from his post pending an investigation into suspected corruption, a congressional committee said on Monday.
South Sudan sexual violence ‘rampant,’ two-year-old raped: U.N.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Rape and other forms of sexual violence by all sides in South Sudan’s civil war have become so widespread that a 2-year-old child was among the victims, the U.N. special representative on sexual violence in armed conflict sai…
