Greek political fallout a worry, but financial contagion seen limited
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Five years after Greece sparked a sovereign debt crisis that threatened the euro’s survival, the country again has the potential to rattle its currency partners if Greeks have to elect a new government next month.
Dalai Lama says China hardliners hold back Xi on Tibet autonomy
BEIJING (Reuters) – Hardliners in the Chinese government are holding back President Xi Jinping from granting genuine autonomy to Tibet, the Himalayan region’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, told a French broadcaster.
Drone strike in Afghanistan kills four Pakistani Taliban: official
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A U.S. drone strike in eastern Afghanistan killed four Pakistani Taliban members and seven other insurgents, a district government official said Wednesday.
Philippines to get frigates, gunboats, helicopters as tension simmers
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines aims to buy two frigates, two helicopters and three gunboats for deployment in the South China Sea where a territorial dispute with China has lent urgency to the need to bolster forces, a Philippine navy officer said …
Bulgaria detains foreign suspects bound for Syria conflict
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria has detained three foreigners, wanted in Spain on terrorism charges, who had been on their way to take part in the conflict in Syria, Bulgaria’s state security agency (SANS) said late on Tuesday.
Vietnam races to rescue trapped workers as water levels rise
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese rescuers battled on Wednesday to free 12 workers trapped in a tunnel that collapsed during construction of a hydropower plant and said it could take days to get past entrenched mud, sand and debris as water levels rose.
Eleven dead in vigilante shootout in western Mexico
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A shootout between rival vigilantes in Mexico’s western Michoacan state has left 11 dead, authorities said on Tuesday, in the clearest sign yet of renewed unrest in an area President Enrique Pena Nieto’s government said had been…
India’s Sahara awaits court verdict that may give jailed chief freedom
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Embattled Indian conglomerate Sahara is readying for a court verdict on Wednesday that will determine if it can take on a new loan and refinance debt on its overseas hotels, including the Plaza in New York, to secure the release of i…
Russia invites North Korea leader for May visit: paper
TOKYO (Reuters) – Russia has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to attend a May ceremony marking the end of World War Two, in what would be Kim’s first foreign visit since taking the helm of the reclusive state in 2011, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily…
‘Lone wolf’ Australian hostage-taker had violent, unsettled past
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The self-styled sheikh behind a siege at a Sydney cafe had been charged as an accessory to murder and with multiple sexual offences. He also harbored deep grievances against the Australian government and had found little kinship in t…
