Turkish military weighs ‘buffer zone’ against Iraq, Syria threats: media
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s military is drawing up plans for a possible “buffer zone” on the country’s southern border, where it faces a threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, Turkish media quoted President Tayyip Erdogan as saying on M…
Ghosts of ethnic conflicts past haunt Fiji vote
SYDNEY/SUVA (Reuters) – When voters in Fiji head to the polls on Wednesday for the first time in eight years, they will be voting not only for a leader, but also testing the success of one of their military junta’s key justifications: ending a history …
‘Mr. Confession’ and his boss drive China’s antitrust crusade
BEIJING (Reuters) – A signboard at the top of a staircase in the ageing Beijing offices of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) directs lawyers and company officials to numbered conference rooms for antitrust meetings.
As many as 700 migrants feared drowned in Mediterranean
GENEVA (Reuters) – More than 700 people fleeing Africa and the Middle East may have drowned in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean over the last week, bringing the death toll this year to almost 3,000, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) sai…
Fresh shelling in Ukraine’s Donetsk puts ceasefire under more strain
KIEV (Reuters) – Fighting broke out again in Ukraine’s rebel-held city of Donetsk on Monday as President Petro Poroshenko prepared to unveil a risky plan to give the separatist-minded east “special status” in a bid to end a conflict that has killed ove…
U.N. takes charge of Central African Republic peacekeeping force
BANGUI (Reuters) – The United Nations on Monday took over a peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic previously run by the African Union, a move that rights groups said must lead to more action to protect civilians from attack.
Forging coalition, Sweden’s new left leader angers ally
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s center-left leader risked alienating a major ally on Monday as he tried to forge a minority government with his defeated center-right foes on Monday after an election that saw an anti-immigrant party surge.
Somalia’s al Shabaab says Uganda did not prevent attack by the group
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia’s al Shabaab militants denied on Monday that Ugandan authorities had foiled an attack by the group, after police in Uganda’s capital seized explosives and suicide vests and arrested 19 people.
Leftist rebels slay two oil company contractors in Colombia
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Leftist guerrillas in northeastern Colombia killed two contractors working on a pipeline for the state oil company, Ecopetrol, military sources said on Monday.
India tightens Vietnam defence, oil ties ahead of China Xi’s visit
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India extended a $100 million export credit to Vietnam for defence deals and tightened energy ties on Monday, signaling a more confident foreign policy ahead of a visit this week by China’s President Xi Jinping.
