Fearing graft probes, Chinese officials shun spotlight, seek retirement
BEIJING (Reuters) – President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption has sown so much fear that many Chinese officials are doing anything to stay out of trouble – from dithering over approving big-ticket projects to seeking early retirement.
Iraq tells U.N. ‘terrorist groups’ seized former chemical weapons depot
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iraq’s government has lost control of a former chemical weapons facility to “armed terrorist groups” and is unable to fulfill its international obligations to destroy toxins kept there, the country’s U.N. envoy told the Unite…
Dozens injured in South African commuter train accident
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – More than 80 commuters were injured when two trains collided in the South African city of Durban on Tuesday, but no deaths were recorded, a spokesman from the national rail authority said.
Mali to meet northern Tuareg rebels in Algiers on July 16: Fabius
PARIS (Reuters) – Mali government officials will meet northern Tuareg separatist rebels in Algiers on July 16, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday, indicating progress in their stalled peace talks.
Bahrain summons top opposition leader for questioning: Wefaq
MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain’s main Shi’ite Muslim opposition group said on Tuesday the interior ministry had summoned its leader for interrogation after he met a visiting U.S. official who was subsequently ordered to leave the kingdom.
Moscow accuses U.S. of ‘kidnapping’ accused Russian hacker
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of violating a bilateral treaty and “kidnapping” a Russian accused of hacking into U.S. retailers’ computer systems to steal credit card data.
Ukraine threatens rebels with ‘nasty surprise’ in new push
KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine’s government kept up military pressure against pro-Russian rebels on Tuesday, threatening them with an “nasty surprise”, while the militants said they were preparing to fight back after losing their main strongh…
Somali presidential compound attacked, president safe
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Islamist militants attacked Somalia’s presidential compound on Tuesday with a car bomb and gunmen broke through a perimeter wall but were repulsed by security forces, and the president was not there at the time, the interior minis…
Iran’s supreme leader calls for more nuclear enrichment capacity
DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) – Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran would need to significantly increase its uranium enrichment capacity, highlighting a gap in positions between Tehran and world powers as they hold talks aimed at clinching a nucle…
Britain’s Hague plugs Eurofighter on visit to India
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Britain’s foreign secretary lobbied India on Tuesday to buy Eurofighter military aircraft, suggesting that London has not yet abandoned hope of ousting France’s Rafale from a multi-billion-dollar combat jet order.
