Church must be open to sick, homeless, pope says on Holy Thursday
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis, starting four packed days of events culminating in Easter, said on Thursday the church must always be a refuge for the poor, the homeless and the sick.
Nigeria local authorities say most of abducted schoolgirls still missing
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Authorities in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state denied on Thursday a statement by the armed forces which had said most of the more than 100 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist rebels had been freed in a military rescue operat…
Reporters charged with defamation remanded on bail in Thailand
PHUKET, Thailand (Reuters) – Two journalists were remanded on bail in Thailand on Thursday on charges of criminal defamation and other offences in connection with a story they published on the trafficking of Muslim minority Rohingya people from Myanmar…
Algeria’s Bouteflika poised to win re-election
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerians voted on Thursday in an election President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is expected to win after 15 years in power, despite speaking only rarely in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.
Saudi conservatives protest against Westernization
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabian conservatives have staged a rare protest outside the Royal Court in Riyadh against “Westernizing” reforms including moves to allow physical education for schoolgirls, local media reported on Thursday.
Obama, Abe to battle negative images at U.S.-Japan summit
TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When U.S. President Barack Obama meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a summit next week, they will be battling negative undercurrents that could undermine their message that Asia’s most important security alliance i…
Japan postpones foreign minister’s trip to Russia
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan has postponed a visit to Russia by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida that had been planned for later this month, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, as bloodshed in an eastern city in Ukraine threatened to overshadow crisis talk…
Japan’s Abe dubs China vital partner amid territorial disputes
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe criticized Beijing for trying to “change the status quo” with force in maritime disputes but said China was a vital economic partner, as a series of visits suggested a possible thaw in ties between t…
Chinese police shoot man dead at checkpoint in Xinjiang
BEIJING (Reuters) – Police in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang have shot dead a man who drove through a security checkpoint, the local government said on Thursday, the latest violence to hit the troubled area with a large Muslim population.
China’s Xi purging corrupt officials to put own men in place: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to use a purge of senior officials suspected of corruption to put his own men and reform-minded bureaucrats into key positions across the Communist Party, the government and the military, sources s…
