Senegal-born chemist hopes to be first black German MP
HALLE, Germany (Reuters) – More than two decades after two far-right youths attacked him there and smashed his glasses, Karamba Diaby hopes to represent the economically ailing east German city of Halle as the first black member of Germany’s parliament…
Hong Kong couple jailed for torturing maid who was ‘forced to wear diaper’
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong couple were jailed on Wednesday for torturing, beating and abusing their Indonesian maid, who said they once dressed her in a diaper and tied her to a chair for five days while they went on holiday.
Merkel’s center-right could fall short of majority: poll
BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition slipped behind Germany’s combined center-left opposition parties in a poll published on Wednesday, indicating her conservatives would be unable to form a majority with their Free Democrat partne…
World Bank chief urges China to better manage urbanization
BEIJING (Reuters) – China must plan its massive urbanization better to limit environmental damage and to ensure that millions of migrants benefit more from the process, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said on Wednesday.
Parliamentary election to test if Austria “going to the dogs”
VIENNA (Reuters) – A business leader’s offhand pre-election comment that Austria is “going to the dogs” has galvanized a debate about whether the nation’s enviable prosperity will wither away.
Israeli Arab killed fighting for Syrian rebels: family
MUSHIRFA, Israel (Reuters) – An Israeli Arab has been killed fighting for Syria’s rebels, his father said on Wednesday, the first such case for the Jewish state which has largely kept out of the 2-1/2-year-old civil war next door.
Greek tourist surge continues in July, boosts payments balance
ATHENS (Reuters) – Strong spending by foreign visitors widened Greece’s current account surplus in July, confirming expectations that a bumper tourism season will help ease the debt-laden country’s recession this year.
Southern violence a thorn in side of Philippines’ booming economy
MANILA (Reuters) – A commercial hub besieged by heavily armed guerrillas, hundreds of houses gutted by fire, helicopters raining rockets on rebel positions. The images from the Philippines this past week sit uncomfortably with its new-found reputation …
Israeli general says Assad could survive in Syria for years
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could cling to power for years despite having lost overall control of his country, according to Israel’s top commander on the frontier with Syria.
China crackdown on online rumors seen as ploy to nail critics
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s crackdown on online “rumor-mongering”, widely seen as a tool to halt criticism of the ruling Communist Party, has chilled political discourse, with high-profile bloggers saying they have reined in sensitive posts for fear of…
