Fresh reports circulate on China’s second aircraft carrier
BEIJING (Reuters) – Fresh reports that China is building a second aircraft carrier circulated over the weekend on a city government microblog and a state-owned newspaper, as the country scrambles to modernize its military.
Thai PM tightens security after mall bombs rattle Bangkok
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha ordered security to be tightened in Bangkok on Monday after two small bombs rattled a luxury shopping mall and stoked tension in a city under martial law since a coup in May.
Two Al Jazeera prisoners at forefront of Greste’s mind: family
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The relief that Australian journalist Peter Greste feels at being freed from prison in Egypt is restrained by concern for his two colleagues who remain in detention, his family said on Monday.
Firms fret as Vietnam drops digits to meet mobile phone demand
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam is ringing in changes next month to make way for a standardized phone numbering plan, but is struggling to get through to businesses hung up on how much it will cost them.
Australia PM drops parental leave plan, says no intention to quit
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Monday dropped a signature plan for paid parental leave and promised a more consultative approach on economic and security problems, seeking to stave off mounting criticism of his leadership.
Mongolia jails American, two Philippine citizens in tax evasion case
ULAN BATOR (Reuters) – (This story was refiled to fix location in dateline)
China executes two cult members for McDonald’s murder
BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Monday executed two members of a banned religious cult, a father and his daughter, for murdering a woman in a McDonald’s restaurant after she rebuffed an apparent recruitment attempt by the group, state media said.
Deadly clashes rage in east Ukraine after peace talks fail
KIEV/DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine on Sunday as pro-Russian separatists used artillery fire to try to dislodge government forces from a strategic rail hub after peace talks collapsed.
At least 10 killed in attacks led by Yemen’s Ansar al-Sharia
SANAA (Reuters) – At least 10 people have been killed in Yemen over the past four days in attacks led by an al Qaeda’s affiliate against Shi’ite Houthi fighters and the Yemeni army, local officials and the group said.
Battle for Okinawa: Islanders face off with Tokyo over bases
NAGO, Japan (Reuters) – Japan’s Okinawa, a chain of tropical islands more than three hours southwest of Tokyo by plane, looks and feels almost like a different country. A growing number of islanders say it should be just that.
