Burundi creates reconciliation body that divides public opinion
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – Burundi, locked in its worst political crisis since its civil war ended in 2005, has created a reconciliation commission that opposition parties say will shield the ruling party from accountability for past crimes.
Japan to arm remote western island, risking more China tension
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is sending 100 soldiers and radar to its westernmost outpost, a tropical island off Taiwan, in a deployment that risks angering China with ties between Asia’s biggest economies already hurt by a dispute over nearby islands they …
Nobel winner Garcia Marquez, master of magical realism, dies at 87
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian author whose beguiling stories of love and longing brought Latin America to life for millions of readers and put magical realism on the literary map, died on Thursday. He was 87.
Drone risks damage at record depth in search for Malaysian plane
PERTH, Australia (Reuters) – An underwater drone scouring the Indian Ocean floor for a missing Malaysian jetliner has dived to its deepest ever level, putting its equipment at unprecedented risk, as hopes dwindled that it might soon turn up some sign o…
Iran says will firmly deter any attacks as military displays might
ANKARA (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic Republic had the might to deter any attacks as its military displayed a range of drones and missiles at an annual parade in Tehran, state television reported on Friday.
As opposition grows, China defends plans for petrochemical plants
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has launched an intense media campaign to defend the safety of producing a chemical used to make polyester fiber, as public opposition to new petrochemical plants threatens to disrupt expansion plans by state energy giants suc…
Fly me to Sochi, demands Cathay passenger armed with chocolate bar, court hears
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A passenger on board a Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight, armed only with a Toblerone chocolate bar, demanded the plane fly to Sochi so he could watch the Winter Olympics, a court heard.
India’s election commission lifts ban on top Modi aide
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s election commission has lifted a ban on a top aide of Hindu nationalist opposition leader Narendra Modi that had threatened to hobble his efforts to win votes in the country’s most populous state.
China sentences activists for urging asset disclosure: lawyer
BEIJING (Reuters) – China sentenced four activists to jail for up to three-and-a-half years on Friday for urging officials to reveal their assets, a lawyer said, the latest convictions in a crackdown on dissent that has drawn international criticism.
Armed mob under guise of peaceful protest attacks U.N. in South Sudan
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A mob of armed civilians pretending to be peaceful protesters delivering a petition to the United Nations in South Sudan forced their way into a U.N. base sheltering some 5,000 civilians on Thursday and opened fire, the world…
