Rebels freed as Myanmar gives amnesty to 56 political prisoners
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar released 56 political prisoners on Tuesday in a presidential amnesty mainly for members of ethnic minority armies with which the government is seeking peace deals, activist and official sources said.
Four dead, thousands evacuated after Typhoon Fitow hits eastern China
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Four people were killed and hundreds of thousands evacuated after Typhoon Fitow hit eastern China, destroying houses and farmlands and closing ports and airports.
Syria wins cautious praise as chemical disarmament starts
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria won foreign praise on Monday for starting to destroy its chemical arsenal, although an opposition activist said the world was merely giving President Bashar al-Assad time to kill more people with conventional weapons.
Exclusive: India to stick with austerity despite looming election
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government will have to rein in spending and cut subsidies to meet its fiscal deficit target, the country’s finance minister said on Monday, underlining that an austerity drive will not be blown off course by an electio…
U.S. trade official says to seek TPP deal by year-end
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – The United States maintained it hopes to seal an ambitious trade pact on schedule by year-end despite resistance in some countries and the absence of President Barack Obama from a regional summit that is ironing out diff…
Australia jobless rate seen steady at 4-year high in September
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at a four-year high in September, but analysts suspect a rise to 6 percent and above, levels not seen in a decade, is only a matter of time with the economy still struggling to…
Japan, China leaders shake hands again but no talks on islands
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands during an APEC regional summit in Bali on Monday but had no talks on a territorial island dispute, Japanese officials said.
Rwanda, Uganda tell U.N. envoys peace in Congo is not their problem
KIGALI/KAMPALA (Reuters) – The presidents of Rwanda and Uganda told U.N. Security Council envoys on Monday that their countries were not responsible for bringing peace to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo’s volatile east, which has long been mir…
Serbia, Kosovo settle row over election campaign
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Serbia and Kosovo have reached a deal to allow politicians from Belgrade to campaign during a Kosovo municipal election on November 3, smoothing over a row that had underscored the fragility of relations between the two.
North Korea puts army on alert, warns U.S. of ‘horrible disaster’
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Tuesday its military would be put on high alert and be ready to launch operations, stepping up tension after weeks of rhetoric directed against the United States and South Korea, who it accuses of instigating hosti…
