Second cyclone in six weeks to hit India’s east coast on Friday
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A hundred thousand residents were being evacuated from coastal areas of India’s southeastern Andhra Pradesh state as a cyclone swirling in the Bay of Bengal was forecast to make landfall late on Friday with wind speeds up to 120 k…
French troops kill deputy to veteran Islamist Belmokhtar
BAMAKO (Reuters) – French special forces have killed the second-in-command of the veteran Islamist commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar in an operation in Mali’s northern region of Tessalit, security sources said on Thursday.
Iraq militia says fires mortar bombs at Saudi as warning
RIYADH/BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Six mortar bombs landed near a border post in northern Saudi Arabia in an attack claimed by an Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militia, which said on Thursday it was warning the kingdom to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Fire sale TVs and Chavez-style theatrics heat up Venezuela vote
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is firing up supporters for the upcoming mayors’ election through a theatrical confrontation with businesses that has showered voters with cheap consumer goods, echoing the style of late socialist…
Myanmar rejects U.N. resolution on Rohingya Muslims
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar rejected on Thursday a U.N. resolution urging it to grant citizenship to the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority group, and accused the United Nations of impinging on its sovereignty.
U.S. drone kills senior militant in Pakistani seminary
PESHAWAR, Pakistan/KABUL (Reuters) – A suspected U.S. drone strike on an Islamic seminary in Pakistan killed a senior member of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network early on Thursday, Pakistani and Afghan sources said.
Iran nuclear deal may reduce, not eliminate, any bomb breakout risk
GENEVA (Reuters) – An interim deal to restrain Iran’s nuclear program aims to make it harder for the Islamic state to build any bomb but may still leave it, at least for now, with enough material for several nuclear warheads if refined to a high degree…
Thousands protest against tough new official secrets law in Japan
TOKYO (Reuters) – Thousands of people protested in Tokyo on Thursday against a proposed secrets act that critics say would stifle information on issues such as the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Man with fake bomb tries to breach Turkish PM’s office
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish police fired into the air and detained a man carrying a device designed to look like a bomb after he tried to breach a security cordon near Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s offices on Thursday.
China bans use of public funds to buy New Year party items
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ruling Communist Party has banned officials from using public funds to buy new year celebration items ranging from alcohol to fireworks, in Beijing’s latest step in a crackdown on waste and graft.
