Al Qaeda chief urges Westerner kidnappings
DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, particularly Americans, who could then be exchanged for jailed jihadists including a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to attack the Unit…
Australian mistook cockpit for toilet, triggering hijack scare
JAKARTA/PERTH (Reuters) – An Australian passenger mistook the cockpit door for the toilet, triggering Friday’s hijack scare on a Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane to the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, police said.
China aims to build over 7 million public homes this year
BEIJING (Reuters) – China aims to start building more than 7 million units of public housing this year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said on Saturday, signaling the latest government move to counter high property prices.
Obama reminds North Korea of U.S. ‘military might’
SEOUL (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Saturday the United States did not use its military might to “impose things” on others, but that it would use that might if necessary to defend South Korea from any attack by the reclusive North.
Tokyo governor passes on Japan PM’s goodwill on China visit
BEIJING (Reuters) – Tokyo’s governor said on Saturday that he had passed on a message from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Chinese leaders that Abe wants relations to improve, during a rare high-level visit as bilateral ties continue to sour.
Boy who raised alarm on doomed Korean ferry had no time to call parents
SEOUL (Reuters) – The frightened boy who first raised the alarm that a South Korean ferry with hundreds on board was sinking did not have time to call his parents, his father said, and was found dead not wearing a life jacket.
Indian Ocean undersea hunt for MH370 set to be extended
PERTH, Australia (Reuters) – The undersea search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is to be extended beyond the small area identified as its most likely resting place as the quest for any sign of the missing plane enters its 50th day on Saturd…
Most workers trapped in Nepal tunnel rescued, three still missing
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Thirteen of the workers including a Chinese national trapped by a landslide inside the tunnel of a hydroelectric power project in Nepal were rescued on Saturday, a project official said.
Venezuela holds 16 in latest offensive on price gougers
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday that 16 people had been arrested in a new round of inspections to find alleged price gougers whom the socialist government blames for the worst inflation rate in the Americas.
Japan, U.S. tiptoe into new phase of Pacific trade talks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Japan are edging into a new phase of trade negotiations after U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s summit, people with knowledge of talks to create one of the world’s biggest …
