North Korea blinks minutes after South threatens closure of factory park
SEOUL (Reuters) – Impoverished North Korea said on Wednesday it was reopening the troubled Kaesong industrial zone jointly run with the wealthy South just minutes after Seoul signalled its willingness to let it close for good.
Magnitude 5.1 quake rattles Greece, felt in Athens
ATHENS (Reuters) – An earthquake rattled Athens on Wednesday, causing buildings to shake for several seconds, Reuters witnesses said.
Czech president says will delay appointing next cabinet
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech President Milos Zeman said on Wednesday he would not appoint a new prime minister for at least several weeks if the cabinet loses a parliamentary confidence vote as expected later on Wednesday.
Syrian army kills 62 rebels east of Damascus
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Sixty-two rebel fighters were killed in a Syrian army ambush at dawn on Wednesday near the town of Adra, east of Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group opposed to President Bashar al-Assad, said.
Thai lawmakers debate political amnesty bill; protest peaceful
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Lawmakers in Thailand debated a political amnesty bill on Wednesday as anti-government protesters demanded it be scrapped because they say it will help exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra return home a free man.
UK’s Cameron tells Spain of ‘serious concerns’ over Gibraltar
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken to his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy to raise “serious concerns” about tensions at the border with Gibraltar, his office said on Wednesday.
Bomb kills teens playing street football in Pakistan’s Karachi
KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – A bomb killed 11 people in a poor district of Pakistan’s financial hub of Karachi on Wednesday, mostly teenagers playing street football at a crowded market, officials said.
Explosion wounds four Israeli soldiers near Lebanese border
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Four Israeli soldiers were wounded on Wednesday in an explosion on the border with Lebanon, a military spokesman said.
China commerce ministry to step up inspection of all imported dairy products
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday that it would step up inspections of all imported dairy products in the wake of a contamination scare involving ingredients for milk formula. It did not give further details.
Japan’s Fukushima plant has been leaking contaminated water ‘for two years’
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government believes radiation-contaminated water has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for the past two years, an industry ministry official told reporters on Wednesday.
