Exclusive: China tried to convince North Korea to give up nuclear tests – source
BEIJING (Reuters) – China told an envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that Pyongyang should stop conducting nuclear and missile tests, but the North showed little sign of heeding the request, said a source with knowledge of the talks held late las…
Fukushima plant operator reverses claim groundwater not contaminated
TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Tuesday it had detected radioactive caesium in groundwater flowing into its wrecked Fukushima Daiichi plant, reversing an earlier finding that any contamination was negligible.
Afghan colonel arrested in prisoner torture case; U.S. link suspected
MAIDAN SHAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) – An Afghan army colonel has been arrested by the government for illegally handing over prisoners to a man working with a U.S. special forces team that was accused of torture and killings, three sources have told Reut…
Ecuador to talk with Britain on Assange on June 17
QUITO/LONDON (Reuters) – Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on Monday he would meet Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague this month to discuss a possible solution to the year-long diplomatic standoff over WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Ass…
Kerry says time running out to revive Mideast peace
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry urged Israel and the Palestinians on Monday to revive stalled peace talks, warning that the alternative was a “negative spiral of responses.”
Defiant Erdogan denounces riots in Turkish cities
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Anti-government protesters responsible for Turkey’s worst riots in years are “arm-in-arm with terrorism”, Prime Minister Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said, in a defiant response to three days of unrest in dozens of cities across t…
U.S. targets Iran with currency, auto-sector sanctions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Monday ratcheted up its efforts to isolate Iran for its suspected nuclear weapons program, targeting Tehran with currency and auto-sector sanctions.
China lends Costa Rica $400 million on Xi visit
SAN JOSE (Reuters) – China lent Central American ally Costa Rica nearly $400 million on Monday during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to a region where Beijing has traditionally vied with rival Taiwan for influence.
Latvia to get green light for euro zone membership on Wednesday
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission will give Latvia on Wednesday the go-ahead to become the 18th member of the euro zone from the start of next year, European Union officials said on Monday.
Somalia cases of killing, maiming, abuse of children halved: U.N.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The number of children killed, maimed, abused and recruited to fight in Somalia dropped by more than half in the first quarter of 2013 due to less fighting between Islamist al-Shabaab militants and government forces, the Unit…
