Flamboyant Pakistani cleric Qadri denies military backing
LAHORE Pakistan (Reuters) – A flamboyant Pakistani cleric vowing to bring down the country’s government has denied widespread speculation he is backed by the powerful military.
U.N. agrees to launch human rights inquiry into Eritrea
GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. Human Rights Council agreed on Friday to set up a year-long inquiry into human rights in Eritrea, similar to previous high-level investigations into Syria, North Korea and Sri Lanka.
Thousands march across Kabul to protest election fraud
KABUL (Reuters) – Thousands of angry protesters marched on the Afghan president’s palace on Friday in support of candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s allegations that mass fraud had been committed during the presidential election by organisers and state offic…
China boat sinks in waters north of islets disputed with Japan
BEIJING (Reuters) – Five Chinese fishermen are missing after a trawler sank on Friday in waters to the north of islands disputed with Japan in the East China Sea in what appeared to be an accident, state media said.
China official met by protests, says respects Taiwan’s choices
KAOHSIUNG Taiwan (Reuters) – China’s top official in charge of relations with self-ruled Taiwan said on Friday that he understood and respected the choices of its people, as he was met by noisy protests in the traditionally anti-China far south of the …
China jails 25 members in latest sentencing of illegal cult
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese court has sentenced 25 members of a banned religious group to prison terms of up to eight years, state media said on Friday, the largest in a series of prosecutions against a group that China calls an illegal cult.
Japan set for landmark easing of constitutional limits on military
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is poised for a historic shift in its defense policy by ending a ban that has kept the military from fighting abroad since World War Two, a major step away from post-war pacifism and a big political victory for Prime Minister Sh…
Party boss of China’s Guangzhou investigated for graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese Communist Party boss of the southern city of Guangzhou is being investigated for corruption, the party’s anti-corruption body said on Friday, the latest target of President Xi Jinping’s war on graft.
Nepal PM to undergo radiotherapy in New York for lung cancer
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala will undergo a course of radiotherapy in New York after being diagnosed with lung cancer, his aide, Dinesh Bhattarai, said on Friday.
Stranded Chinese workers in Iraq being evacuated
BEIJING (Reuters) – A group of about 1,000 Chinese workers who had been trapped at a power station by the fighting in Iraq are now being evacuated by air and road, state media said on Friday.
