Hong Kong and Philippines settle spat over 2010 bus tragedy
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong on Wednesday scrapped travel sanctions against the Philippines after Manila offered an apology and compensation for a hostage tragedy almost four years ago, settling a lengthy diplomatic spat between the two.
China says probing reports Chinese chlorine used in Syria attack
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it was investigating reports that a chlorine canister bearing the name of the country’s biggest arms maker was shown in footage believed to document a gas attack in Syria this month.
China urges renewed peace effort in South Sudan after massacre
BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Wednesday urged renewed peace efforts in South Sudan after the United Nations said rebels slaughtered hundreds of civilians when they seized the South Sudan oil hub of Bentiu.
Pirates raid oil tanker off Malaysia, take away three crew
KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Armed pirates raided an oil tanker off the coast of Malaysia and took three crew members with them, Malaysian maritime officials said on Wednesday, underscoring increasing threats to shipping in one of the world’s bus…
China won’t swallow ‘bitter pill’ of ceding sovereign rights: military official
QINGDAO, China (Reuters) – China will not “swallow the bitter pill” of ceding its sovereign rights to others, a senior military official told foreign naval leaders on Wednesday, as the country takes an increasingly assertive approach to guarding its ma…
China warns again ahead of Dalai Lama’s Norway trip
BEIJING/OSLO (Reuters) – China warned again on Wednesday that it was resolutely opposed to a visit by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to Norway, saying if he really was a religious figure he should be “resting in a temple” not travel…
Saudi Arabia reports 11 new cases of MERS virus, first in Mecca
ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had discovered 11 more cases of the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), including what appeared to be the first case in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
Visitors flock to China memorial to Japanese official’s assassin
BEIJING (Reuters) – A memorial to a Korean who assassinated a Japanese official more than a century ago has drawn a flood of visitors since it opened in China in January despite Japanese criticism.
China activist missing after trying to help striking workers
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A prominent Chinese labor activist has been missing for more than 24 hours and his wife suspects he was detained by state security agents after trying to help workers involved in China’s biggest strike in years organize their case….
Thai court gives PM time to defend herself; economy rudderless
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday gave Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra until early May to defend herself against charges of abuse of power, as the central bank warned that the political crisis threatened another cut in…
