Russia says Syria aid draft could open door to military action
MOSCOW/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia denounced on Wednesday a Western-Arab draft U.N. Security Council resolution on humanitarian aid access in Syria as a bid to lay the groundwork for military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s gov…
China, Sri Lanka could sign free trade pact this year
BEIJING (Reuters) – China and Sri Lanka could sign a free trade agreement by the end of the year, state news agency Xinhua cited Sri Lanka’s foreign minister as saying, a move that will help cement Colombo’s growing economic and diplomatic ties with Be…
U.S. envoy meets India’s Modi, signaling end of boycott
GANDHINAGAR, India (Reuters) – With flowers, smiles and handshakes, the U.S. ambassador to India met the Hindu nationalist leader who could be India’s next prime minister on Thursday – a big step towards ending Washington’s shunning of him over sectari…
UK’s Osborne says could not back pound for independent Scotland
EDINBURGH (Reuters) – British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday he could not support the possibility of an independent Scotland using the pound should Scots vote for secession in a referendum later this year.
Britain says Scotland would lose the pound if it leaves UK: Osborne
LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister George Osborne warned Scotland on Thursday it cannot keep the pound if it votes for independence in a September 18 referendum.
Briton missing in Yemen, possibly kidnapped – security source
SANAA (Reuters) – A British teacher has been reported missing in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a Yemeni security source said on Thursday, suggesting he may have been kidnapped.
Exclusive: U.N. monitors warn of ‘systematic’ Somali arms diversion
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A confidential U.N. monitors’ report warns of “systematic abuses” by Somalia’s government, which the monitors say has allowed the diversion of weapons that Somali authorities purchased after the U.N. Security Council eased an…
Tepco took months to release record strontium readings at Fukushima
TOKYO (Reuters) – The operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant knew about record high measurements of a dangerous isotope in groundwater at the plant for five months before telling the country’s nuclear watchdog, a regulatory official told R…
Four killed in attacks in Thailand’s restive south
PATTANI, Thailand (Reuters) – Suspected Muslim rebels in southern Thailand killed four people, including a nine-year-old boy, on Thursday, police said, adding the attack may have been in reprisal for the killing of some Muslim boys.
For South China Sea claimants, a legal venue to battle China
HONG KONG (Reuters) – When Philippine President Benigno Aquino compared China to the Germany of 1938 and called for global support as his country battles Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, he put the focus on a case that Manila has filed in an in…
