Islamic State’s financial independence poses quandary for its foes
BAGHDAD/DUBAI (Reuters) – Sometimes they came pretending to buy things. Sometimes they texted, sometimes they called, but the message was always the same: “Give us money.”
North Korea ready to give Japan report on abductees: Kyodo
TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea is ready to provide Japan with initial findings from a special investigating team that looked into the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang’s agents decades ago, Kyodo news agency quoted a North Korean diplomat …
Special Report: Scots warm to the power of Yes
GLASGOW Scotland (Reuters) – In late August, Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling shared the stage as part of the push to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom.
China’s Communist Party expels former aide to retired security chief
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ruling Communist Party has expelled a former aide to retired security chief Zhou Yongkang and accused him of taking bribes, the government said on Thursday, the latest move against people close to Zhou as part of a graft pro…
Dry West Bank ridge becomes focus of Israel-Palestinian tension
JAB’A West Bank (Reuters) – The rocky valley north of Jab’a, scattered with olive and pine trees and dry streams long evaporated by the searing heat, would be unremarkable had it not become the latest point of friction between Israel and the Palestinia…
Philippines’ Aquino seeks more power for government to avert electricity crisis
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino said he would ask Congress to allow the government to enter into energy supply contracts, for the first time since the industry was privatised in 2001, to avert a looming power shortage next year.
Indonesia’s Widodo wants to overturn law curbing anti-graft drive: adviser
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian president-elect Joko Widodo wants the top court to overturn legislation that makes it more difficult to investigate lawmakers for graft, an adviser said, referring to a law passed with little publicity in one of the world…
Tech factory workers strike in China over mooncakes, benefits
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – About 16,000 workers at two subsidiaries of Taiwanese touch-screen maker Wintek Corp went on strike over holiday benefits this week in southern China in one of the biggest work stoppages this year, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford diagnosed with tumor
TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who gained global notoriety after a well-publicized battle with addiction, was admitted to hospital with a tumor in his abdomen on Wednesday, throwing his campaign for re-election into doubt.
China asserts paternal rights over Hong Kong in democracy clash
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Just days before China was set to deliver its edict on electoral reform in Hong Kong, Beijing’s most senior official in the city held a rare meeting with several local lawmakers whose determined push for full democracy had incensed Beijing’s Communist leaders.
