U.S. calls for ‘urgent’ restraint to ease Japan, Korea tensions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States expressed concern on Tuesday about tensions between Japan and Korea and said its two main allies in Asia could not afford to let historical rivalry interfere with ensuring security in the region.
Growth, reform in spotlight as China parliament meeting opens
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will unveil key economic targets and reform priorities for 2014 at the start of an annual parliament meeting on Wednesday, and expectations are that Beijing will stick to gradual changes to avoid an economic shock.
Uighur leader fears China’s ‘iron fist’ after knife attack
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Chinese authorities are likely to further crack down on dissent in the restive Xinjiang region after a bloody train station knife attack that Beijing blames on militants, an exiled Uighur leader said on Tuesday.
Netanyahu warns on Iran, urges no Palestinian ‘excuses’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the United States and other world powers on Tuesday not to allow Iran to retain the ability to enrich uranium, and urged Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state if they …
Turkish PM says rival will ‘pay price’ as new recordings emerge
KIRIKKALE, Turkey (Reuters) – Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday berated an Islamic cleric he accuses of plotting to wreck his government, as more voice recordings apparently intended to embarrass the Turkish leader were aired on the Internet.
Putin among Nobel Peace nominees but Ukraine might figure too
OSLO (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize – but the conflict in Ukraine is also likely to be on the Nobel committee’s agenda.
Romanian government wins confidence vote after split
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta won a confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday, as expected, securing a new mandate to push through a series of IMF-backed reforms aimed at speeding up growth in the European Union’s second-poo…
Pistorius gets emotional at graphic evidence
PRETORIA (Reuters) – Oscar Pistorius buried his head in his hands and wiped away tears after a South African court on Tuesday heard grisly details of the killing of his girlfriend, the first sign of emotion from the track star in his two-day murder tri…
Rains bring further misery for Central Africa’s displaced
BANGUI (Reuters) – An early start to the rainy season in Central African Republic has worsened the plight of hundreds of thousands of people sheltering from religious violence in makeshift camps, raising the risk of malaria and dysentery, aid workers s…
Nigerian army losing grip on northeast as Islamists rampage
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s military is losing control of swathes of the largely Muslim northeast to radical Islamist insurgents who are killing civilians almost daily, and the run-up to elections next year risks aggravating the violence further.
