Hollande backs away from deadline on unemployment
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande backed away on Thursday from a pledge to bring unemployment down by the end of the year, saying instead that it would take as long as necessary.
Video shows execution of Syrian rebels by Al Qaeda-linked group
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked militants have executed the commander of a rival rebel faction and six of his men, an amateur video of the public execution showed, part of their campaign to marginalize other groups.
Last of Greenpeace protesters granted bail in Russia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Thursday granted bail to the last Greenpeace activist still in custody over a protest against offshore oil drilling in the Arctic.
India sex assault case spotlights powerful predators
NEW DELHI, Nov 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The man at the center of a sexual assault scandal that has whipped India’s media into a frenzy is no average Joe.
China to push chaotic petitioning system online
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will encourage people who wish to lodge petitions about perceived injustices to do so online rather than taking their grievances directly to officials, as the government seeks to bring order to an often chaotic and abusive sys…
U.S. affirms support for Japan in islands dispute with China
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States pledged support for ally Japan on Wednesday in a growing dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea and senior U.S. administration officials accused Beijing of behavior that had unsettled its neighbor…
China breaks up gangs that smuggled $164 million worth of cars
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese authorities have broken up six rings that smuggled around $164 million worth of cars into the country over the past three years, including more than 80 top-end models such as BMWs and Rolls-Royces, state media said on Thursd…
Australian diplomacy tested by Indonesia, China rows
SYDNEY (Reuters) – When Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott swept to power in September’s general election, his promise of a foreign policy that was “more Jakarta than Geneva” raised hopes of a new era of engagement with powerful Asian neighbors.
Afghanistan’s Karzai stands alone in high-stakes game with U.S.
KABUL (Reuters) – President Hamid Karzai’s stubborn refusal to sign a pact that would keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is a high-risk gamble that Washington will give in to his demands, one that has left him isolated as the clock…
Syrian opposition to attend Geneva peace conference
CAIRO (Reuters) – The Syrian National Coalition opposition group will attend the long-delayed “Geneva 2” talks in January aimed at ending the country’s civil war, the group’s president, Ahmad Jarba, said on Wednesday.
