Juppé’s star rises amid French leadership void
PARIS (Reuters) – He has a criminal record for corruption and as prime minister in the 1990s caused France’s worst unrest since May 1968 with a failed austerity push. Two decades on, opinion polls show he is the country’s most respected politician in o…
Australia lifts Fiji sanctions as foreign minister visits
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Friday took a major step toward resetting frayed relations with Fiji, lifting the final sanctions against the country during the most senior visit by an Australian diplomat since a military…
Beijing bans Halloween costumes on subway ahead of APEC
BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing police have warned people they face arrest for wearing Halloween fancy dress on the subway as it may cause crowds to gather and create “trouble”, a state-run newspaper said on Friday, unveiling a list of APEC summit-related …
Special Report: Tsunami evacuees caught in $30 billion Japan money trap
ISHINOMAKI Japan (Reuters) – Thirty billion dollars in funding for roads, bridges and thousands of new homes in areas devastated by the tsunami in Japan three and a half years ago is still languishing unspent in the bank. That means Keiko Abe is headin…
Myanmar calls meeting of political, military heavyweights
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s president and powerful military chief will hold an unprecedented high-level meeting on Friday with major political parties and ethnic minority groups as cracks widen in the fledgling democracy ahead of an election next year…
Special Report: Tsunami evacuees caught in $30 billion money trap
ISHINOMAKI Japan (Reuters) – Thirty billion dollars in funding for roads, bridges and thousands of new homes in areas devastated by the tsunami in Japan three and a half years ago is still languishing unspent in the bank. That means Keiko Abe is headin…
Burkina army imposes interim government after crowd burns parliament
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Burkina Faso’s military dissolved parliament and announced a transitional government on Thursday after violent protests against President Blaise Compaore, but it was not immediately clear who was in charge.
Ukraine, Russia, EU agree to natural gas supply deal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Ukraine, Russia and the European Union signed a deal on Thursday that will see Moscow resume vital supplies of gas to its ex-Soviet neighbor over the winter in return for payments funded in part by Kiev’s Western creditors.
Clashes erupt as Israeli police kill Palestinian suspected of shooting Jewish far-rightist
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli police on Thursday shot dead a 32-year-old Palestinian man suspected of having tried hours earlier to kill a far-right Jewish activist, leading to fierce clashes in East Jerusalem and fears of a new Palestinian uprising.
Iraqi Kurdish forces enter Syria to fight Islamic State
SURUC Turkey (Reuters) – A first group of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters entered the besieged Syrian town of Kobani on Thursday to help push back Islamic State militants who have defied U.S. air strikes and threatened to massacre its Kurdish defender…
