Magnitude 7.3 quake hits near Papua New Guinea: USGS
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 was recorded off Papua New Guinea’s remote Bougainville Island, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Friday, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
U.S. may give up demand for zero Japan beef tariffs in trade deal: Nikkei
TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States appears willing to accept a big cut in Japanese tariffs on beef imports rather than insist on scrapping the levy, the Nikkei business daily said on Friday, as the two countries seek a trade deal seen as vital to a br…
Prominent Chinese activist scorns court as jail term upheld
BEIJING (Reuters) – A prominent Chinese rights activist expressed defiance on Friday after a court upheld his four-year jail sentence, saying the pall of communism and dictatorship would eventually give way to freedom and justice.
Egypt’s Tahrir Square dream fades as Sisi builds power
CAIRO (Reuters) – In a courthouse near Cairo, a peremptory message hangs above the judge presiding over one of a series of trials involving Egypt’s briefly powerful and now almost impotent Muslim Brotherhood.
Seven killed in mine blast in eastern Ukraine
DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Seven people were killed on Friday when an explosion caused by leaking gas tore through a coal mine near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, local authorities said.
Man confesses in first public trial in China’s rumor crackdown: Xinhua
BEIJING (Reuters) – A popular internet microblogger confessed in court to spreading rumors about the Chinese government, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, in the first public trial since China began cracking down on online rumors last…
Cambodian court convicts 13 of plotting against government
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – A Cambodian court convicted 13 people on Friday of plotting to overthrow the government, a case seen by rights groups as a politically motivated bid to discredit opposition to long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen.
West struggles as Russia moves to dominate old USSR
LONDON (Reuters) – NATO says tens of thousands of Russian troops are massed on the border with Ukraine for a potential invasion, yet Western states still lack a strategy to stop Moscow from intervening in its former Soviet neighbors.
No breakthroughs on trade deal for Australia PM in China
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday that he hoped a free trade agreement with China would be signed before November, offering little progress on a deal at the center of his visit to his country’s largest trade part…
Gold rush threatens West Africa’s cocoa future
YOHO, Ivory Coast (Reuters) – A month ago, Bouafu Kouassi dug a neat circular hole in the middle of his one-hectare cocoa plantation in western Ivory Coast, and, sifting through the gravel on his shovel, found the unmistakable traces of gold dust.
