South Africa’s strike-hit Implats says violence is ‘devastating’
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Impala Platinum described on Friday as “devastating” the impact on its employees of a 16-week strike at its key South African operations and said it had lost 131,000 ounces of production to the stoppage in the March quarter.
Suspected Liberian gunmen seize Ivorian village, kill eight
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – At least eight people, including five civilians, were killed when gunmen believed to have come from Liberia seized a border village in western Ivory Coast, the parliamentarian for the area said on Friday.
How a stand-off at sea led to mob violence in Vietnam
HANOI (Reuters) – As a thousand Vietnamese rioters stormed his factory on Tuesday night, smashing windows and ripping down Chinese-language signs, Taiwanese executive Henry Yeh hid with a colleague in the back of a fire truck, clutching the only weapon…
China, Vietnam ministers to hold talks on anti-China riots
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commerce minister will meet his Vietnamese counterpart on Friday to discuss deadly anti-Chinese riots that have taken a toll of the Asian giant’s business interests in the Southeast Asian nation, a Chinese official said.
U.S. warns China its actions in sea disputes are straining relations
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China’s “provocative” actions in maritime disputes with its neighbors are straining ties with the United States, raising questions over how the world’s two biggest economies can work together, a senior U.S. official said.
Another arrest sought in hunt for South Korean ferry operator owner
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean prosecutors said on Friday they were seeking a warrant for the arrest of Yoo Byung-un, the head of the family that owns the operator of a ferry that capsized last month.
Indonesia appoints top businessman as chief econ minister
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday appointed one of the country’s richest businessmen, Chairul Tanjung, as his chief economic minister.
Death toll in Turkish mine disaster unlikely to exceed 302: minister
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The death toll in this week’s mining accident in western Turkey is unlikely to be more than 302 people, Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday.
Cold-shouldered by West, Putin will hope for some China sympathy
BEIJING/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Increasingly isolated by the West over Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hope for a sympathetic ear on a visit next week to China, which is also being more assertive in its territorial disputes with smaller neigh…
Thousands flee Iraq government assault on rebel-held Falluja
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Thousands of civilians have fled Falluja since last week after the Iraqi military intensified shelling in a new bid to crush a five-month old Sunni uprising, killing scores of people in what residents describe as massive indiscrimin…