Special Report: Moscow stifles dissent as soldiers return in coffins
MOSCOW 2014 (Reuters) – Late last month Yelena Tumanova was handed the body of her son in a coffin at her home in Russia’s Western Volga region. Anton Tumanov was 20 and a soldier serving in the Russian army in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya.
Exhausted and frustrated, Pakistani protesters want to go home
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Arshad Shah, a Pakistani protester, feels trapped: worn out after weeks of street demonstrations against the government, he wants to go home but protest organizers will not let him.
Erdogan approves law tightening Turkey’s Internet controls
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan approved a law tightening government control of the Internet and expanding the powers of the telecoms authority late on Thursday, part of the first legislative package he has effected as head of sta…
Wiretaps against Palestinians are wrong, Israeli ex-spies tell Netanyahu
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Dozens of reserve soldiers from Israel’s top electronic surveillance unit say they will no longer spy on Palestinians living under occupation, an unprecedented rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security policies.
Lawyers boycott trial of prominent Chinese activist
GUANGZHOU China (Reuters) – Lawyers representing a prominent Chinese activist boycotted the start of a long-delayed trial in protest over procedural irregularities on Friday which was then adjourned, in a closely watched case as China clamps down on ri…
Thai PM aims to broaden tax base, bring in inheritance tax
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, said on Friday his military-backed government aimed to broaden the tax base in the new fiscal year from October, bringing in an inheritance tax among other changes.
Putin holds key to Ukraine peace but keeps world guessing
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin took a break from his official duties to slip into a Russian Orthodox Church this week and light a candle for fighters killed in eastern Ukraine.
Blockaded Gaza faces huge challenges to rebuild after war
GAZA/NAHAL OZ Israel (Reuters) – Fifty days of war in one of the most densely populated parts of the world have left swathes of Gaza in ruins. With the economy reeling under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, the enclave now faces an almost impossible task …
U.S. teen faces new questioning in grisly Bali suitcase murder
JAKARTA (Reuters) – A U.S. teenager detained in Bali in connection with the grisly murder of her mother was due to be questioned for a second time on Friday after so far refusing to answer questions, police said.
Special Report: China turns up heat on ex-security chief with crash probe
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Little is known about the exact circumstances in which Wang Shuhua was killed. What has been reported, in the Chinese media, is that she died in a road accident sometime in 2000, shortly after she was divorced from her hus…
