China claims credit for blind activist’s U.S. studies
BEIJING (Reuters) – China took credit on Friday for its “humanity” in allowing blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng to study in the United States, after he fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing following months of house arrest.
Gambia to cut ties with Taiwan, China says unaware
BANJUL/TAIPEI (Reuters) – Gambia’s government will cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan with immediate effect, President Yahya Jammeh’s office said, a move which could threaten warming ties between China and Taiwan, though China expressed little interest in…
Analysis: Hero to zero? Philippine president feels typhoon backlash
MANILA (Reuters) – Two days before one of the world’s most powerful typhoons rammed into the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino had a simple but ambitious target for all government agencies: zero casualties.
Insight: As powers push for talks, Syria balance tilts towards Assad
BEIRUT (Reuters) – More than two and a half years into the civil war devastating Syria, the United States and Russia are pushing the combatants to the negotiating table in Geneva, but on terms that mark a shift in favor of Bashar al-Assad against the i…
Zimbabwe’s rusting factories put Mugabe in a bind
CHEGUTU, Zimbabwe (Reuters) – Across Zimbabwe, dozens of factories lie idle with peeling paint, rusting machines and broken roofs in once bustling industrial districts, symbols of the huge economic challenge facing President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-…
Slovenian PM wins confidence vote, but bailout risk remains
LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Slovenia’s government won a confidence vote on Thursday over its efforts to avert an international bailout, even as the imminent cost of a bank clean-up risks tipping the euro zone country’s finances over the edge.
China’s reform agenda ‘unprecedented’, official says
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s reform plan approved by party leaders is “unprecedented” and fundamental changes are expected following the decision to upgrade the role of markets in the economy, a senior party official said in comments published on Friday…
Syrian air raid kills rebel commander in Aleppo: activists
AMMAN (Reuters) – A Syrian rebel commander in a main Islamist brigade was killed and two others were injured in an air strike by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces on Aleppo, activists said on Friday, in a setback to rebels defending the city against a…
Venezuela jails 100 ‘bourgeois’ businessmen in crackdown
CARACAS, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s socialist government has arrested more than 100 “bourgeois” businessmen in a crackdown on alleged price-gouging at hundreds of shops and companies since the weekend, President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday.
Toronto mayor says ‘I’m sorry’ again, to get help for alcohol problem
TORONTO (Reuters) – Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, under huge pressure to quit after he admitted smoking crack cocaine, said on Thursday he was getting help for a drinking problem, but offered no indication that he might step down.
