Obama brokers Japan, South Korea talks as Pyongyang fires missiles
THE HAGUE/TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama brought together the leaders of Japan and South Korea for their first face-to-face talks as a North Korean ballistic missile launch underscored the need for Washington’s two key Asian allies to re…
Arab states pledge to work to end rifts
KUWAIT (Reuters) – Arab leaders, at loggerheads over numerous issues including Egypt and Syria, pledged at the end of a two-day summit in Kuwait on Wednesday to work to end their divisions.
Hollande readies tax breaks after French vote losses: government source
PARIS (Reuters) – The French government is preparing tax breaks for households after a final round of local elections on Sunday in which President Francois Hollande’s Socialist party has suffered losses, a government source said.
India’s BJP manifesto cautious on FDI, focus on jobs: sources
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s main opposition party would welcome more foreign direct investment in defense, if elected, but would delay opening up big-box retail to global players now barred from the country’s market of more than 1.2 billion people.
European parliament MP says Qatar to improve labor laws
DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar has promised to improve its labor laws, a member of the European parliament visiting the Gulf Arab state said, after persistent criticism from human rights group over its treatment of workers.
China says supports international financial aid for Ukraine
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that international financial bodies ought to be offering aid to Ukraine to ensure its economic stability, though it stopped short of saying whether Beijing would participate in such efforts…
Security alert during Obama’s Belgian visit declared false alarm
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian police said a security alert caused by a suspicious package found on a Brussels bus during a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday had turned out to be a false alarm.
India’s supreme court grants conditional bail to Sahara chief
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s supreme court on Wednesday agreed to release on bail the head of the Sahara conglomerate, after setting certain conditions.
Asia’s abalone fever feared wiping out the gourmet mollusc in South Africa
HOUT BAY, South Africa (Reuters) – In broad daylight, groups of poachers hidden among the rocks of a South African marine conservation area wade slowly into the icy, shark-infested waters of the Atlantic Ocean in search of ‘white gold’.
China’s Three Gorges replaces top executives amid graft probe
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Three Gorges Corp, which built the world’s biggest hydropower scheme, has replaced its chairman and general manager, the company said, in the latest major reshuffle of a state-owned firm as the government steps up a fight on…
