Chinese official shot dead in Tibetan area
BEIJING (Reuters) – An official in charge of preserving social stability was shot dead in a mountainous area of a Tibetan prefecture in southwestern China last week, state media reported.
Biden warns of further costs for Russia over Ukraine violence
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday the United States would work with its allies to “impose further costs on Russia” if Moscow failed to use its influence to stop separatist violen…
Kurds committed abuses in Syria: rights group
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Kurds in parts of northern Syria have carried out arbitrary arrests and failed to investigate the killings and disappearance of political opponents, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday in a report documenting rights abuses.
Libya condemns U.S. arrest of Benghazi suspect
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya condemned the United States on Wednesday for snatching a man suspected of masterminding the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, describing the arrest as a violation of Libyan sovereignty.
Iraq asks United States for air support to counter rebels
BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iraq has asked the United States for air support in countering Sunni rebels, the top U.S. general said on Wednesday, after the militants seized major cities in a lightning advance that has routed the Shi’ite-led governmen…
Japan’s ‘Patriotic Wives’: praise for Abe, censure for China, South Korea
TOKYO (Reuters) – One by one, women take the microphone near a crowded crossing in a popular Tokyo shopping district on a hot and humid weekday, denouncing Japan’s pacifist constitution, blasting China’s “recklessness” and mocking the South Korean flag…
Hong Kong’s democracy ‘referendum’ likely to rile China’s communists
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong holds a controversial “referendum” on democracy on Friday, a prelude to an escalating campaign of dissent that could shut down the former British colony’s financial district and further anger China’s Communist Party lead…
Police break up anti-FIFA protest in Porto Alegre
PORTO ALEGRE Brazil (Reuters) – Police fired stun grenades and tear gas in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre on Wednesday to disperse protesters demonstrating against the World Cup. The 150 protesters, who marched in the city centre as the World Cup Group B match between Australia and the Netherlands kicked off, were met by a force of several hundred police, Reuters witnesses said.
As Myanmar’s Rakhine Buddhists gain strength, so does anti-Muslim apartheid
KYAUKPYU Myanmar (Reuters) – A campaign to isolate Muslims living under apartheid-like conditions is gathering steam in western Myanmar, driven by Buddhist activists emboldened by the country’s transition from military rule.
UKIP snags lone French defector to form EU political group
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Britain’s UK Independence Party succeeded on Wednesday in forming a European Parliament grouping with other euro-sceptic parties, giving it access to more money, staff and speaking time.
