Mega-events may get less ambitious as Brazil counts World Cup costs
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Plagued by delays and opposition at home, the World Cup in Brazil might be a turning point for sporting mega-events, forcing soccer’s governing body and the International Olympic Committee to accept less ambitious bids to red…
Resurgent violence underscores morphing of al Qaeda threat
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – – In Iraq, an al Qaeda splinter group is threatening Baghdad after seizing control of two cities. In Pakistan, the Taliban attacked a major airport twice in one week. And in Nigeria, the Islamist militant group Boko Har…
U.S. accuses Sudan of deadly attacks on civilians
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday condemned recent attacks by the Sudanese government’s Rapid Support Forces on civilians in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, saying they have been deliberately targeting schools and hospit…
South Korea’s Park replaces finance minister in cabinet reshuffle
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye replaced her finance minister with a three-term member of parliament and close policy confidant in a cabinet reshuffle on Friday in the aftermath of a ferry disaster that killed more than 300 peopl…
China’s top Taiwan official to make first visit to island
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top official in charge of relations with Taiwan will make his first visit to the island later this month, state media said, following large-scale protests there against a controversial trade pact.
Spooked by probes, pharma executives ask: should I leave China?
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s crackdown on corruption in the pharmaceutical sector has frightened foreign executives so much that some fear they could be jailed and have asked their lawyers if they should leave the country for six months. Others are thi…
Why higher Iran oil exports are not roiling nuclear deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – At first glance, Iran appears to have exported more oil than allowed under a nuclear agreement with major powers, but rather than complaining, U.S. officials argue Tehran is skating just inside the deal’s ambiguous limits.
Obama warns of U.S. action as jihadists push on Baghdad
BAGHDAD/ARBIL (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday threatened U.S. military strikes in Iraq against Sunni Islamist militants who have surged out of the north to menace Baghdad and want to establish their own state in Iraq and Syria.
U.S. quietly moves detainees out of secretive Afghanistan prison
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration has quietly repatriated a dozen detainees from a small U.S. military prison in Afghanistan, moving a modest step closer toward winding down the United States’ controversial post-9/11 detainee system.
Minneapolis FBI probes Somali-Americans fighting Assad in Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The FBI is investigating men of Somali background who have traveled from the Minneapolis-St Paul area to Syria to fight with Islamist groups against President Bashar al-Assad, an FBI spokesman said on Thursday.
