Greek judicial panel orders ex-finance minister to stand trial
ATHENS (Reuters) – A Greek judicial panel has ruled that former finance minister George Papaconstantinou must stand trial on charges related to a scandal over a list of potential tax evaders that caused outrage among crisis-hit Greeks.
Malaysia summons U.S. ambassador over comments on Sedition Act
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has summoned the U.S. ambassador after he questioned a government decision to strengthen a law against sedition, which critics say has been used to crack down on government detractors, despite an earlier promise to scr…
Myanmar suspects in British tourist murders plead for Suu Kyi’s help
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Two Myanmar men charged with murdering two British tourists in Thailand have written to Nobel Peace laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi pleading for help, protesting their innocence and claiming to have been “scapegoated” by Thai police.
U.N. says rich nations pledge to take 100,000 Syrian refugees
GENEVA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday that Western governments had heeded a call to take in more Syrian refugees from neighboring countries and estimated that, in all, more than 100,000 places would be offered in…
China police search for missing Vietnamese brides: paper
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Police in northern China are investigating the disappearance of more than 100 Vietnamese women who had been sold as wives to Chinese men via a broker who is also missing, the China Daily reported on Thursday.
UK lawmakers say want China envoy summoned over Hong Kong ban
LONDON (Reuters) – A group of senior British lawmakers said on Wednesday that China’s refusal to allow them to visit Hong Kong was an insult and called on the government to formally summon China’s ambassador over the issue.
China energy officials urged to educate families to avoid graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese energy officials must educate their children and spouses to shun corruption, China’s energy administration said on Thursday, taking aim at the practice of corrupt officials stashing ill-gotten gains with relatives.
Exclusive: Crimean leader in New Delhi during Putin visit
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The leader of Crimea, the former Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia, arrived for unofficial talks in New Delhi on Thursday as President Vladimir Putin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a summit.
Philippine Islamist militants free Chinese-Malaysian captive
MANILA (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines have freed a Malaysian-Chinese man they had kidnapped seven months ago, a military spokeswoman said on Thursday, after negotiations with community leaders.
Malaysia arrests 20 as probe widens into murders of Myanmar nationals
GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia (Reuters) – Police in Malaysia have arrested 20 people in a widening investigation into the murder of at least 18 Myanmar nationals in the northern state of Penang since January.
