British parliament rejects Chinese call to halt Hong Kong democracy probe
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s parliament has rejected Chinese calls to scrap an inquiry into Hong Kong’s progress towards democracy, a senior lawmaker said, warning that reforms there may violate a 1984 deal on the former British colony’s sovereignty.
Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘undisguised aggression’ as rebels advance
KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia on Monday of “direct and undisguised aggression” which he said had radically changed the battlefield balance as Kiev’s forces suffered a further reverse in their war with pro-M…
UK’s fate in the balance as poll shows record support for Scottish independence
EDINBURGH/LONDON (Reuters) – A poll showing support for Scottish independence at its highest ever level threw the fate of the United Kingdom into question on Tuesday, just two weeks before Scots vote on whether to secede.
Putin orders building hastened at new Russian spaceport
VOSTOCHNY Russia (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday ordered construction sped up on a multi-billion-dollar spaceport in Russia’s Far East that he said would break reliance on the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and launch future missions…
Hamas popularity surges as Palestinian rivalry flares
RAMALLAH West Bank (Reuters) – Militant group Hamas would sweep Palestinian elections if they were held today after its support soared during seven weeks of war with Israel in Gaza, an opinion poll published on Tuesday found.
Thai junta blocks rights meeting in Bangkok
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s ruling junta ordered that a rights talk at a journalists’ club in Bangkok be shut down on Tuesday, further stoking concerns over freedom of expression in the country since a military power grab in May.
Record 4.1 million in Syria got food aid in August, U.N. says
GENEVA (Reuters) – A record 4.1 million people in Syria received food rations in August due to more convoys being able to cross front lines and borders from Turkey and Jordan, the U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP) said on Tuesday.
Afghan turmoil threatens NATO’s ‘mission accomplished’ plans
BRUSSELS/KABUL (Reuters) – NATO will declare “mission accomplished” this week as it winds down more than a decade of operations in Afghanistan but departing combat troops look likely to leave behind political turmoil and an emboldened insurgency.
South Korean military to press homicide charges over latest death
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s military said on Tuesday it will upgrade charges against four soldiers to homicide for the abuse of a fellow conscript that lead to his death in a case that shocked the country over violence in the military.
Market-style reforms widen racial divide in Cuba
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s experiment with free-market reforms has unintentionally widened the communist-led island’s racial divide and allowed white Cubans to regain some of the economic advantages built up over centuries.
