Asylum seekers accuse Australia navy of abuse as boat towed to Indonesia
KUPANG, Indonesia (Reuters) – On New Year’s day, 45 asylum seekers in a ramshackle wooden boat slid ashore on a small island off the Australian city of Darwin. Four others had been swept overboard that morning in rough seas and were believed dead.
Syrian chemical weapons stalling tests limits of U.S.-Russian deal
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – At a closed door meeting, Western governments led by the United States took Syria to task for failing to surrender its chemical weapons under ambitious deadlines agreed with Russia after a poison gas attack in August.
Controversial Malaysia state boss due to “retire”, but keep influence
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The chief minister of Malaysia’s Sarawak is expected to announce his resignation on Monday after 33 years in charge of the resource-rich state that have been key to keeping the national coalition in power but marred by corrupti…
Pakistani separatist militants blow up three gas pipelines
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Separatist rebels from Pakistan’s resource-rich Baluchistan province have blown up three gas pipelines, cutting supplies to the country’s most economically important province, an official from a state-owned gas company said Monday…
U.S. to announce trade enforcement action linked to India
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. trade representative on Monday will announce a trade enforcement action tied to India, his office said, a move that could further rile relations after an incident last year involving the arrest and strip-search of an Ind…
Eleven dead in Japan after worst snowfall in decades hits capital
TOKYO (Reuters) – Eleven people died, more than a thousand were injured and tens of thousands lost power when the worst snowstorm in decades hit Tokyo and areas around the Japanese capital before heading north to blanket the tsunami-hit Pacific coast.
Six hundred Syrians flee besieged Old Homs in aid convoy
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Six hundred people left the besieged ruins of rebel-held central Homs on Sunday, escaping more than a year of hunger and deprivation caused by one of the most protracted blockades of Syria’s devastating conflict.
Japan ruling party candidate elected Tokyo governor, aiding PM Abe
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s favored candidate won Sunday’s election for governor of Tokyo, quashing efforts to make the vote a referendum on Abe’s pro-nuclear energy policy nearly three years after the Fukushima disaster
U.S. and South Korea to hold military drills despite protest from Pyongyang
SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States and South Korea will hold their annual joint military drills from February 24 to April 18, the combined forces command that oversees the allies said on Monday, and Pyongyang had been notified of the plan.
Case against Congolese militia leader is test for global court
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda appears at the International Criminal Court on Monday charged with war crimes and other atrocities in a hearing that will be a test for the global legal institution after a string of trouble…
