Thai cabinet meets king; doubt grows over power handover schedule
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s new military-stacked cabinet met King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok on Thursday, marking the formal start of an administration that will spend at least a year overhauling the political system before calling an election.
Taliban detonate truck bombs in central Afghanistan, 18 killed
GHAZNI Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents detonated truck bombs and fired rocket-propelled grenades outside the office of Afghanistan’s spy agency and a police compound in the central town of Ghazni on Thursday, killing 18 people, the provincia…
NATO chief, at summit, says Russia attacking Ukraine
NEWPORT Wales (Reuters) – NATO’s top official accused Moscow outright on Thursday of attacking Ukraine as allied leaders gathered for a summit to buttress support for Kiev and bolster defenses against a Russia they now see as hostile for the first time…
Afghan forces hunt militant leader once welcomed under peace process
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan security forces are hunting a senior Islamist militant allowed to settle in the country in 2011 under a government peace plan but who is now leading hundreds of insurgents seeking to overrun the northern province of Kunduz, off…
Putin unveils Ukraine ceasefire plan, France halts warship
KIEV/ULAN BATOR (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin outlined plans for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday but Ukraine’s prime minister dismissed the proposal, while France expressed its disapproval of Moscow’s support for separatist forces by…
Putin plays cat and mouse with Russian online critics
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Before the Internet, Anton Nossik remembers painstakingly copying out Soviet dissident Joseph Brodsky’s forbidden writings on a clattering typewriter for samizdat publications.
Japan’s First Lady speaks out on sales tax, nuclear power
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese First Lady Akie Abe – often called the “household opposition” for her penchant to speak out – said on Thursday the country should consider cutting wasteful spending and boosting the economy before going ahead with a rise in t…
UAE calls for ‘unified effort’ against militancy in region
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East, has called for a “unified effort” to root out radical militancy in regional hotspots including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Afghanistan.
Police probe staff at China business daily, PR firms for graft: Xinhua
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese police have arrested eight people, including several editorial staff from a prominent financial newspaper, on suspicion of extorting money from businesses, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.
Attack on Somali Islamist leader seen triggering power struggle
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A hail of U.S. missiles aimed at the leader of Somalia’s al Shabaab militants may have left a gaping hole in the group’s leadership, potentially the biggest challenge to its unity since it emerged as a fighting force eight years ago…
