Algeria’s Bouteflika poised to win re-election
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerians voted on Thursday in an election President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is expected to win after 15 years in power, despite speaking only rarely in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.
Saudi conservatives protest against Westernization
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabian conservatives have staged a rare protest outside the Royal Court in Riyadh against “Westernizing” reforms including moves to allow physical education for schoolgirls, local media reported on Thursday.
Obama, Abe to battle negative images at U.S.-Japan summit
TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – When U.S. President Barack Obama meets Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a summit next week, they will be battling negative undercurrents that could undermine their message that Asia’s most important security alliance i…
Japan postpones foreign minister’s trip to Russia
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan has postponed a visit to Russia by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida that had been planned for later this month, the foreign ministry said on Thursday, as bloodshed in an eastern city in Ukraine threatened to overshadow crisis talk…
Japan’s Abe dubs China vital partner amid territorial disputes
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe criticized Beijing for trying to “change the status quo” with force in maritime disputes but said China was a vital economic partner, as a series of visits suggested a possible thaw in ties between t…
Chinese police shoot man dead at checkpoint in Xinjiang
BEIJING (Reuters) – Police in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang have shot dead a man who drove through a security checkpoint, the local government said on Thursday, the latest violence to hit the troubled area with a large Muslim population.
China’s Xi purging corrupt officials to put own men in place: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to use a purge of senior officials suspected of corruption to put his own men and reform-minded bureaucrats into key positions across the Communist Party, the government and the military, sources s…
Guinea-Bissau run-off vote pits ex-finance minister Vaz against Nabiam
BISSAU (Reuters) – Jose Mario Vaz, Guinea-Bissau’s former finance minister, will face Nuno Gomes Nabiam, a candidate seen closest to the army, in a May 18 presidential run-off due to complete the country’s return to civilian rule.
China releases blogger on bail, jails another amid rumor crackdown
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese-American venture capitalist known for his controversial blogs has been released on bail after nearly eight months in detention because of a “serious illness”, Beijing police said amid a crackdown on online dissent.
Graft trial of son of Senegal’s ex-president to start in June
DAKAR (Reuters) – Karim Wade, son of Senegal’s ex-president, will go on trial in two months to face corruption charges, a year after he was accused of illegally amassing a fortune of $1.4 billion during his father’s rule, a government official said.
