Syria’s Western-backed opposition elects new president
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s Western-backed opposition, the National Coalition, elected Hadi al-Bahra, chief negotiator at the Geneva peace talks, as its new president on Wednesday after a three-day meeting in Istanbul.
Fukushima farmer takes on nuclear plant operator over wife’s suicide
YAMAKIYA Japan (Reuters) – A Japanese court is due to rule next month on a claim that Tokyo Electric Power is responsible for a woman’s suicide, in a landmark case that could force the utility to publicly admit culpability for deaths related to the Fuk…
Kurds threaten legal action against Iraq oil buyers
ARBIL Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi Kurdistan threatened on Wednesday to take legal action against buyers of the country’s oil unless the autonomous region is paid its share of revenue from any sales.
Fifty-three blindfolded bodies found in Iraq as political leaders bicker
BAGHDAD Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces found 53 corpses, blindfolded and handcuffed, south of Baghdad on Wednesday as Shi’ite and Kurdish leaders traded accusations over an Islamist insurgency raging in the country’s Sunni provinces.
Ukraine threatens to retake territory from defiant rebels
KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainian government forces on Wednesday warned separatists in the eastern town of Donetsk that a plan was now in place to take back the territory they occupy, but defiant rebels reported a steady flow of new recruits w…
North Korean nuclear and missile expert dies; more missiles fired
SEOUL (Reuters) – A former North Korean missile expert who was placed under sanctions by the United Nations for his role in the country’s nuclear and missile weapons programs has died, state media said on Wednesday.
North Korea list of Japanese abductees contains some 30 names: Nikkei
(Reuters) – North Korea has given Japan a list of some 30 missing Japanese still living in the country, Japan’s Nikkei daily reported on Thursday, citing sources – three times as many names as the paper reported a week ago.
Bahrain questions opposition leader after expelling U.S. diplomat
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain interrogated its top opposition leader on Wednesday after expelling a senior U.S. diplomat for meeting him, a remarkable slap at Washington from an ally that hosts the U.S. Navy’s Middle East fleet.
China puts prominent writers under house arrest as Kerry visits
BEIJING (Reuters) – A prominent writer who has angered China by advocating Tibetan rights said she and her husband were placed under house arrest during a visit to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Ex-Guatemalan leader Portillo to be freed from U.S. prison in February
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo is scheduled to be released from a U.S. prison in February, more than five years after his arrest on money laundering charges.
