Australia PM says will confront Putin at G20 over downed flight MH17 ‘murders’
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday that he would use an upcoming G20 leaders summit to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 and the “murder” of Australian citiz…
South Korea warns North of ‘strong’ response after exchange of fire
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea said on Monday it had warned North Korea of a “strong” response if it provoked an incident similar to one last week that sparked an exchange of machinegun fire across their border.
Bolivia’s Morales claims re-election victory
LA PAZ (Reuters) – Bolivian President Evo Morales declared a landslide re-election victory on Sunday, hailing it as a triumph for socialist reforms that have cut poverty and vastly expanded the state’s role in the booming economy.
Hong Kong police remove barricades, say protesters can remain
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police removed some barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters at key sites in the heart of the city on Monday to relieve traffic chaos that has plagued some districts during rush hour.
Migrants snared in multi-million dollar kidnap racket on U.S.-Mexico border
REYNOSA Mexico (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Central American migrants are being kidnapped, abused and extorted by Mexican gangs just yards from the United States in a growing racket that may be worth up to $250 million a year.
British parliament to hold symbolic vote on Palestine status
LONDON (Reuters) – British lawmakers will hold a symbolic parliamentary vote on Monday on whether the government should recognize Palestine as a state, a move unlikely to shift official policy but designed to raise the political profile of the issue.
Kurds hold off Islamic State in Kobani; fighters strike in Iraq
MURSITPINAR Turkey/BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Kurdish defenders held off Islamic State militants in Syria’s border town of Kobani on Sunday, but the fighters struck with deadly bombings in Iraq, killing dozens of Kurds in the north and assassinating a provinc…
Divided nationalists ahead in Bosnia
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Nationalists with little shared vision of Bosnia’s future were in the lead in an election for the three-person presidency on Sunday, likely portending more dysfunction in a country still haunted by the divisions of a 1992-95 war.
Record bust in Cambodia signals Thai dollar counterfeiting boom
BATTAMBANG Cambodia (Reuters) – Brigadier General Sar Theth is the police chief of Battambang, a languid riverside town in western Cambodia. You could also call him the seven million dollar man.
Bolivia votes in presidential poll; Morales seen cruising to win
LA PAZ (Reuters) – Bolivians voted on Sunday in an election that is almost certain to hand a third consecutive term to President Evo Morales, a former coca farmer who promises to consolidate leftist reforms that have expanded the role of the state in a…
