China offers incentives for criminals overseas to give themselves up
BEIJING (Reuters) – Corrupt Chinese officials who have fled abroad are being offered reduced sentences and other incentives to give themselves up and return home, state media said on Friday, as the government continues its sweeping campaign against gra…
Ex-Soviet states bicker as Putin tries to unite them
MINSK (Reuters) – Vulgar chants about Vladimir Putin before he arrived for a regional summit in Belarus did not augur well for the Russian president’s hopes of bringing the leaders of former Soviet republics closer together.
Serbia backs jail terms for Serbs fighting in foreign conflicts
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbia’s parliament approved on Friday jail terms of up to eight years for anyone found guilty of fighting in foreign wars, in an effort to dissuade citizens from joining conflicts in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere.
Anti-EU party up-ends UK politics by targeting left and right
LONDON (Reuters) – After years of promising a political earthquake, the UK Independence Party is causing tremors. It poached one of Prime Minister David Cameron’s parliamentary seats and almost took another from the Labour party.
Missing students and murders eclipse reforms push in Mexico
IGUALA Mexico (Reuters) – For nearly two years, President Enrique Pena Nieto has sought to direct the Mexican public’s gaze onto his efforts to open the economy and away from the brutal gang violence that blighted his predecessor’s government.
Two Koreas exchange machinegun fire at border, no casualties
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired machinegun rounds into South Korea on Friday, prompting the South to retaliate with its own fire, the South’s defence ministry said, three days after the rivals exchanged fire at a disputed sea border.
Slovenia names new EU nominee as Juncker tries to complete team
LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The Slovenian government named on Friday an entrepreneur and newly appointed minister, Violeta Bulc, as its candidate for a post in the new European Commission after its original nominee was rejected by the European Parli…
Thai PM stands by investigation into murders of British tourists
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha defended a police investigation into the murder of two British tourists on Friday, amid criticism of shoddy forensic work and concern that two arrested Myanmar men may have admitted the crimes u…
South Africa signs nuclear agreement with France
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa has signed a nuclear power agreement with France, the government said on Friday, three weeks after it reached a similar deal with Russia as part of Pretoria’s first tentative steps towards building up to 9,600 MW o…
U.S. Air Force probed for scrapping costly planes bought for Afghans
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. government watchdog agency is asking the Air Force to explain why it destroyed 16 aircraft initially bought for the Afghan air force and turn them into $32,000 of scrap metal instead of finding other ways to salvage nearly…
