Afghan election results delayed amid fraud accusations
KABUL (Reuters) – Preliminary results from Afghanistan’s presidential election, due to be announced on Wednesday, have been delayed, an election official said, amid accusations of fraud that threaten to split the fragile country along ethnic lines.
India building collapse death toll rises to 47
CHENNAI India (Reuters) – The death toll in a collapsed building in the south Indian city of Chennai has risen to 47, the latest disaster to highlight poor safety standards in India’s booming construction industry.
Four killed when plane carrying khat crashes in Kenyan capital
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Four crewmen were killed on Wednesday when a plane carrying the stimulant khat crashed into a commercial building in the Kenyan capital Nairobi shortly after taking off, police said.
North Korea fires more short-range rockets ahead of Xi visit to Seoul
SEOUL (Reuters) – Isolated North Korea fired short-range rockets into the sea off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korean media reported, the latest in a flurry of tests ahead of this week’s visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Seoul.
Ally of China’s former domestic security chief expelled from party
BEIJING (Reuters) – A former aide to China’s embattled retired domestic security boss, Zhou Yongkang, has been expelled from the Communist Party after taking “huge bribes” and committing adultery, China’s top anti-corruption body said on Wednesday.
Japan to decide possible easing of North Korea sanctions on Thursday
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will decide whether to ease sanctions against North Korea on Thursday after assessing Pyongyang’s plan to reinvestigate the fate of the Japanese citizens kidnapped by the reclusive state decades ago, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishi…
Ukraine’s forces attack rebel positions; Putin growls
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces struck at pro-Russian separatist bases in eastern regions with air and artillery strikes on Tuesday after President Petro Poroshenko announced he would not renew a ceasefire but go on the offensive to rid Ukraine of “p…
Myanmar police fire rubber bullets to end sectarian trouble in Mandalay
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar police fired rubber bullets on Wednesday to disperse crowds of Buddhists and Muslims facing off in the streets of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, police said.
Thai military government looks to neighbors for support
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s military government is shoring up diplomatic ties with Asian neighbors to provide a counterweight to criticism from the West about its seizure of power in May and its reluctance to set an early date for a return to civili…
Defiant Al Jazeera faces conservative backlash after Arab Spring
DOHA (Reuters) – Al Jazeera, the Qatari-funded television station whose reporting of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings won it millions of viewers in the Middle East, is defiant following a backlash by Arab governments that accuse it of supporting Islamist…
