Mexico Congress approves contested education reform
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to a government bill to overhaul an education system that badly lags global peers, despite teacher protests seeking to derail it.
Peace talks with Israel going nowhere: senior Palestinian
RAMALLAH (Reuters) – Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are proving pointless and will not bear fruit without much greater pressure from Washington, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday.
Movie version of Malaysian race riot stirs unease
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – At a crucial point in the film “Tanda Putera”, ethnic Chinese youths urinate on a pole flying the flag of a Malaysian state, setting off events that push the country into a deadly race riot that still haunts the national consci…
Chinese police suspect aunt of gouging out boy’s eyes
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese police suspect a six-year-old boy’s aunt of gouging out his eyes, Xinhua state news agency said on Wednesday, the latest twist in the investigation of a crime that shocked the country.
Merkel’s fear: pollsters may get it wrong again
BERLIN (Reuters) – Eight years ago Angela Merkel stared gloomily at the election results with disbelief when her party crashed to 35.2 percent of the German vote, seven points below the opinion poll forecast.
Kerry opens door to ‘boots on ground’ in Syria, then slams it shut
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry briefly opened the door on Tuesday to authorizing U.S. ground troops in Syria, but quickly slammed it shut and told Congress that any resolution approving military force would prohibit “boots on the …
Protesting Thai rubber farmers block roads, threaten airport closure
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Thai rubber farmers protesting against a sharp drop in prices escalated protests across southern Thailand on Wednesday, cutting off access to large swathes of the region by blocking roads leading to tourist and …
Japan PM says he will tell G20 Japan to pursue growth and fiscal discipline
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday he will tell a Group of 20 nations summit this week that Japan is pursuing policies that will ensure economic growth and maintain fiscal discipline.
Suriname leader says son’s arrest timed to shame him
PARAMARIBO (Reuters) – Suriname’s president said on Tuesday the arrest of his son in Panama on charges of smuggling cocaine into the United States was timed to embarrass him as he hosted a regional summit.
Quake jolts southern Japan, felt in Tokyo
TOKYO (Reuters) – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 jolted southern Japan on Wednesday, public broadcaster NHK said, with the tremor shaking buildings in the capital, Tokyo.
