Bahrain jails five for 15 years for bomb attacks: agency
MANAMA (Reuters) – A Bahraini court sentenced five men to 15 years in prison for two attacks by homemade bombs – including one during last year’s Formula 1 race – the Gulf Arab state’s official BNA news agency said.
Former aide to retired Chinese security chief probed for graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – A former aide to retired Chinese security tsar Zhou Yongkang is being investigated for corruption, the government said, the latest move targeting people close to Zhou who is himself subject to a graft probe.
Thailand’s army moves to allay coup fears
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s powerful but politicized army sought to ease fears on Monday it might step in to resolve a festering political crisis, while anti-government protesters entrenched positions around Bangkok as they seek to disrupt a Februar…
Tunisian police arrest Islamists threatening New Year celebrations
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian police arrested seven Salafists, or ultra-conservative Islamists, in the western town of Kasserine on Sunday, local radio reported, as authorities feared radical Islamists may be planning attacks during New Year celebrations….
Nigeria Islamists kill eight in bachelor party attack
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Suspected fighters from Islamist group Boko Haram opened fire on a bachelor party in northeast Nigeria, killing eight people and wounding several others, witnesses said on Sunday.
Iran and world powers resume expert level nuclear talks
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran resumed technical talks with world powers in Geneva on Monday, a vital step in implementing a nuclear deal signed last month which suspends key elements of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
Al Jazeera says 3 journalists held in Egypt after hotel broadcast
CAIRO (Reuters) – Al Jazeera said Egyptian security forces arrested three of its journalists after the interior ministry accused the Qatar-based television channel of broadcasting illegally from a hotel suite together with a member of the Muslim Brothe…
China’s Xi to take personal charge of pushing through reforms
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping will head a group steer economic and social reforms, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday, underscoring his determination to push through change amid fears of resistance from vested interests.
China says Japan PM ‘shuts door’ on talks with war shrine visit
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Monday that its leaders will not meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after his visit to a shrine seen by critics as a symbol of Tokyo’s wartime aggression, underscoring the deteriorating ties between Asia’s two big…
Special Report: Japan’s homeless recruited for murky Fukushima clean-up
SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) – Seiji Sasa hits the train station in this northern Japanese city before dawn most mornings to prowl for homeless men.
