Afghan vote recount moves at snail’s pace, rival sides far apart
KABUL (Reuters) – The dusty ballot box from the disputed Afghan presidential election was supposed to contain 550 votes. When auditors cut the seal they found barely 30 votes inside.
Iraq parliament elects senior Kurdish politician president
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s parliament elected senior Kurdish lawmaker Fouad Masoum as president on Thursday, a long-awaited step in creating a new government capable of countering a Sunni Muslim insurgency.
Mediterranean boat people numbers soar to near 100,000 this year
GENEVA (Reuters) – Almost 100,000 boat people have made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe this year, a roughly 60 percent increase on the whole of last year, and about 800 have died in the attempt, the U.N. refugee agency said on…
Myanmar Muslims in remote Rakhine suffer worsening health crisis
INN DIN Myanmar (Reuters) – Visitors to the medical facility in one of Myanmar’s poorest and most remote regions are greeted by a padlocked gate and a sign reading: “Clinic closed until further notice.”
Germany to watch U.S. agents after spy scandal
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will step up its counter-espionage activity against some of its allies, government sources said on Thursday, after Berlin opened investigations into two men it suspects of spying for the United States.
Russia concerned by U.S. proposal for missile shield in South Korea
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia voiced concern on Thursday over a U.S. proposal to station elements of a missile defense shield in South Korea, saying the move could provoke an arms race in the region.
Ex-Murdoch reporter escapes jail over UK phone-hacking crimes
LONDON (Reuters) – A former tabloid reporter who admitted hacking hundreds of phones to find stories for two Sunday newspapers was spared jail on Thursday for helping secure the conviction of Prime Minister David Cameron’s ex-media chief Andy Coulson.
Death row Christian woman flies out of Sudan
ROME/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A Sudanese woman who was spared a death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity and then barred from leaving Sudan flew into Rome on Thursday in an Italian government plane. Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, whose sentence and …
Taiwan launches inquiry into plane crash that killed 48
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan authorities launched an investigation on Thursday into the crash of a TransAsia Airways turboprop plane in which 48 people were killed with the weather expected to be a factor in the inquiry.
Russia says will cooperate with MH17 probe led by Netherlands
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Russia will cooperate with the investigation into the downing of a Malaysian airliner a week ago and is satisfied that the Netherlands, rather than Ukraine, is leading the effort, the country’s ambassador to Malaysia said on Th…
