Thai junta appoints reform council as part of plan for polls next year
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s junta approved on Friday a 250-member council to draw up political reforms and approve a new constitution, main steps in a military plan for a general election late next year.
Japan PM Abe says seeks better ties with China, South Korea, Russia
(Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to improve relations with China, South Korea and Russia, while acknowledging difficulties facing ties with his country’s Asia-Pacific neighbors.
India, China agree to end Himalayan border face-off
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and China have agreed to pull back troops ranged against each other on a remote Himalayan plateau, the Indian government said on Friday, ending their biggest face-off on the disputed border in a year.
Boko Haram ‘leader’, killed repeatedly, continues to threaten Nigeria
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, or a man claiming to be him, has been killed at least three times so far, according to the military, yet each time he apparently returns in the group’s numerous jihadist videos.
Big powers aim to tackle any Iran bomb ‘sneak-out’ risk in nuclear talks
VIENNA (Reuters) – Western strategists have long debated the specter of Iran “breaking out” – suddenly showing the ability to explode an atom bomb. But some see a “sneak-out” less visible to U.N. inspectors as a possibly bigger risk and world powers ha…
French, U.S. planes strike Islamic State, Britain to join coalition
NEW YORK/BEIRUT (Reuters) – French fighter jets struck Islamic State targets in Iraq on Thursday, and the United States hit them in Syria, as a U.S.-led coalition to fight the militants gained momentum with an announcement that Britain would join.
Thai PM bemoans divisive soap operas, offers to write better ones
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday criticized television soap operas for promoting violence and divisions in society said he wanted scripts to encourage reconciliation, and would write them himself if he had to.
Britain arrests two more men in operation against Islamist militants
LONDON (Reuters) – British police arrested two men as part of an operation into Islamist-related militancy on Friday as lawmakers prepared to approve Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan to join U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State militants in Ir…
From jubilation in Tahrir, Egypt returns to Mubarak-era politics
CAIRO (Reuters) – In a dusty courtyard in Egypt’s Nile Delta, men gather to ask for favors at the home of retired police general Sayyed Azb.
Indonesia’s parliament puts an end to direct regional elections
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s parliament on Friday approved a measure ending direct elections for governors and mayors, a move president-elect Joko Widodo criticised as a “big step back” for democracy in the country.
