China media warns Philippines of ‘counterstrike’ in South China Sea
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state media warned on Saturday that a “counterstrike” against the Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea, potentially Asia’s biggest military troublespot.
Analysis: Snowden’s options appear to narrow in bid to evade U.S. arrest
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Nearly a month after Edward Snowden exposed top secret U.S. surveillance programs, the former spy agency contractor looks no closer to winning asylum to evade prosecution at home – and his options appear to be narrowing.
Egypt violence builds, American among dead
ALEXANDRIA/CAIRO (Reuters) – Two people, one an American, were killed when protesters stormed an office of Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, adding to growing tension ahead of mass rallies aimed at unseating the Islamist president.
South Africa’s Mandela ‘improving’ as Obama flies in
PRETORIA/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s ailing anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela is doing much better in hospital, his ex-wife Winnie said on Friday, as U.S. President Barack Obama arrived for a visit that will pay homage to a man he calls …
Kerry steps up shuttle talks with Abbas and Netanyahu
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accelerated his Middle East shuttle diplomacy on Friday in the hope of persuading Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct peace negotiations.
Mexican ex-governor gets 11 years in U.S. for money laundering
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former Mexican state governor was sentenced to 11 years in prison in the United States on Friday after pleading guilty to conspiring to launder millions of dollars in bribes from a notorious drug cartel.
Bombs hit Iraq funeral and football stadium, killing 22
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) – A series of bombs near a bakery, at a funeral, inside a senior police officer’s car and at a football stadium killed at least 22 people across Iraq on Friday, police and medics said.
Brazilian president’s plan to import doctors faces resistance
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – President Dilma Rousseff’s plan to import foreign doctors to work in rural and poor parts of Brazil, part of a move to quell massive street protests over poor public services, has run into stiff opposition from the powerful medica…
Exclusive: Fearing death, Congo’s ‘Terminator’ fled with help of family
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Facing defeat by a rival rebel and fearing death at the hands of Rwandan troops, Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda quietly slipped into Rwanda on a small path with a single escort to turn himself in at the U.S. Embassy in Kiga…
In key Mexican state, opposition leads in poll for July vote
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s main opposition conservatives are on track to retain the key electoral bastion of Baja California next month, according to a poll released on Friday, in a vote that could strengthen a fragile cross-party alliance built …