Indonesia’s Jokowi leads with 80 percent of votes counted: private group
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Jakarta’s populist governor looks set to become Indonesia’s next president, according to a private tally of eighty percent of the votes cast, as his rival lashed out at critics, including the capital’s biggest English-language newsp…
Pakistan jets, U.S. drones attack militants, at least 50 said killed
PESHAWAR Pakistan (Reuters) – The Pakistani military said its jets killed 35 suspected militants on Wednesday as part of an anti-Taliban offensive hours after U.S. drones attacked another area nearby and killed up to 20 people.
Japan nuclear plant gets safety OK, key step toward restarts
TOKYO (Reuters) – A nuclear plant in southern Japan cleared an initial safety hurdle on Wednesday which could make it the first nuclear facility to restart under tough new safety regulations after the industry was idled by the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Russia detains two over fatal Moscow metro accident
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian state investigators said on Wednesday they had detained two Moscow metro workers suspected of safety breaches that may have caused an accident that killed at least 21 people.
Iraq names moderate Sunni parliament speaker in move to break political deadlock
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi politicians named a moderate Sunni Islamist as speaker of parliament on Tuesday, a long-delayed first step towards a power-sharing government urgently needed to save the state from disintegration in the face of a Sunni uprisin…
Chinese town trades lead poison test results for milk
DAPU China (Reuters) – After a test showed farmer Zhao Heping’s toddler grandson had high levels of lead in his blood two years ago, local officials in China’s Hunan province offered the child medicine, he says – and milk. In return, Zhao says, officials asked that he hand over his grandson’s blood test results.
Mexico rescues 458 children from squalid refuge amid abuse fears
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico said on Tuesday it had rescued 458 children from a vermin-infested refuge for abandoned boys and girls, some of whom it believes were sexually abused.
Exclusive: U.N. monitors allege ‘conspiracy’ to divert Somali assets
VIENNA/NAIROBI (Reuters) – A United Nations panel that monitors compliance with U.N. sanctions on Somalia has accused the country’s president, a former minister, and a U.S. law firm of conspiring to divert Somali assets recovered abroad, according to a…
China oil rig finishes exploration in disputed waters off Vietnam
SHANGHAI/HANOI (Reuters) – A Chinese oil rig has finished drilling near the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea after finding signs of oil and gas, a top Chinese energy firm said on Wednesday, more than two months after its deployment hurt …
Obama vows intelligence cooperation to Germany’s Merkel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday for the first time since a new spy scandal dented relations between the two allies, and pledged to be in touch about ways to improve U.S.-German inte…
