Australia seeks Thai help for Aussie couples, surrogate babies
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Australia urged Thailand on Friday to allow Australian couples with babies born by Thai surrogate mothers to return home with their children following a crackdown on commercial surrogacy that has left many couples in limbo.
Somalia takes Kenya to U.N. court in oil rights row
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Somalia filed a suit against Kenya at the U.N.’s highest court, seeking to resolve a long-running dispute over lucrative oil reserves in the Indian Ocean.
Macau to ‘re-elect’ leader as democratic rumblings, mirroring Hong Kong, are stifled
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Macau chief executive Fernando Chui is widely expected to be “re-elected” on Sunday after the pro-China government stifled an unofficial referendum on democracy, taking a much harder line on the gambling hub than leaders have in n…
Volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea causes flight diversions
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea on Friday sent smoke and ash spewing high over the South Pacific island nation, leading some aircraft to alter their flight paths.
Exclusive: U.S. may use secrets act to stop suit against Iran sanctions group
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. government is considering using a powerful national security law to halt a private lawsuit against a non-profit group, United Against A Nuclear Iran, according to a source familiar with the case.
Accident traps at least 25 miners in Nicaragua, government-backed site says
MANAGUA (Reuters) – At least 25 miners were trapped in a gold mine in Nicaragua’s far north on Thursday after a collapse, a government-backed news website and other media reported, adding that rescue efforts would continue through the night.
With eye on China, Japan defense planners seek spending boost
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s defense planners are seeking their biggest budget ever for the coming fiscal year to pay for stealth fighters, drones and a hi-tech submarine, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bolsters the military amid an intensifying rivalry wit…
Israel police find body of missing U.S. student
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli police said on Thursday they had found the body of a 23-year-old American student who went missing last week near a forest in Jerusalem and that they did not suspect a criminal motive.
U.S., China plan followup to Sunnylands summit in November
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, at odds over China’s increasing assertiveness in Asia and issues such as cyberspying, plan a followup to their informal summit in California last year after November’s…
Mali rebel factions agree to end hostilities ahead of Sept talks
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Representatives of two platforms of rebel groups from northern Mali agreed on Thursday in the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou to end hostilities and present a united front for talks with the Malian government in Algeria in early S…
