China to put prominent anti-graft activist on trial next week
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will begin a long-awaited trial next week of a prominent anti-graft activist campaigning for officials to reveal their wealth, his lawyer said on Friday, on charges he broke the law by organizing demonstrations.
India’s Rahul Gandhi demands higher subsidy on cooking gas
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded raising the ceiling on subsidized cooking gas cylinders, continuing a populist streak as he leads the ruling Congress party into a tough national election due by May.
U.S. urges Myanmar to probe attacks on Muslim minority
YANGON (Reuters) – The United States on Friday urged Myanmar to investigate reports that security forces and Buddhist mobs attacked members of the Rohingya Muslim minority this week, killing as many as 60 people.
China decries foreign interference in detained academic case
BEIJING (Reuters) – China decried what it called interference in its internal affairs on Friday, after both the United States and European Union voiced concern over the detention of a high-profile ethnic Uighur academic from the restive western region …
Indonesia bristles over ‘deplorable’ Australian sea incursions
JAKARTA/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Indonesia will increase maritime patrols after what it called deplorable territorial violations by Australia’s navy as it tried to turn back asylum seekers, worsening an already bitter dispute between the two neighbors over t…
Hundreds flee homes as heatwave fans Australia bushfires
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Extreme heat and high winds fanned dozens of bushfires across Australia on Friday, prompting hundreds to flee their homes in some of the worst conditions seen since Black Saturday in 2009.
Japan stands by apologies for war aggression as textbook row re-emerges
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan stands by previous government statements acknowledging and apologizing for its aggression in World War Two, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday as tension mounts again with China.
Eastern Chinese province first to ease one-child policy
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s wealthy eastern province of Zhejiang became the first to implement a new landmark relaxation of the country’s strict one-child policy on Friday, state media reported, allowing more parents to have a second child.
Madagascar court confirms ex-finance minister is president-elect
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) – Madagascar’s electoral court declared former finance minister Hery Rajaonarimampianina president-elect on Friday despite allegations by his defeated rival that the December run-off vote was rigged.
Top South Africa diplomat heads to Yemen to negotiate hostage release
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa is sending a top diplomat to Yemen to negotiate the release of one of its citizens being held hostage by al Qaeda-linked gunmen and threatened with imminent execution, the foreign ministry said on Friday.
