China calls Xinjiang unrest a ‘terrorist attack’, ups death toll to 35
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state media has raised to 35 the death toll from unrest this week in far western Xinjiang region, and denounced the clashes, the deadliest in four years, as a “terrorist attack”.
South Africa’s Pistorius back on track for ‘low-key’ training
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African Paralympic and Olympic athletics star Oscar Pistorius has returned to the track for “low-key” training, just weeks before he is due to appear in court for the latest hearing in his murder trial.
Russian prosecutors drop jail threat against tycoon Lebedev
MOSCOW (Reuters) – State prosecutors asked a Moscow court on Friday to restrict media magnate Alexander Lebedev’s movements for 21 months for punching a rival on a TV talk show but did not demand a jail sentence.
U.S. suspends trade benefits for Bangladesh over safety
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama cut off long-time U.S. trade benefits for Bangladesh on Thursday in a mostly symbolic response to conditions in the country’s garment industry that have cost more than 1,200 lives in the past year.
Australian PM Rudd urges China action on trade deal
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia’s Sinophile Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday urged China – the country’s largest trading partner – to conclude a stalled free trade deal, using his first news conference since regaining power to praise the current bila…
Former Chinese Communist Party official gets 13 years for bribery: Xinhua
BEIJING (Reuters) – A former regional Communist Party official implicated in a sex scandal that has transfixed China was sentenced on Friday to 13 years in jail for bribery, government news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.
Analysis: Syria peace conference: Don’t hold your breath
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – How deep is the divide separating Russia and the United States on Syria? A photo from the recent G8 summit in Northern Ireland says it all – two grim-faced leaders slouched in their chairs, Barack Obama biting his lip and Vla…
Leader of leftist party in Mexico’s Oaxaca state found dead
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The dead body of a top leader of Mexico’s Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) for southern Oaxaca state was found on Thursday and police are investigating his death as a homicide, the state attorney general’s office said.
Europe clinches deals on banks, budget, youth jobless
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European leaders agreed on new steps to fight youth unemployment and promote lending to credit-starved small business on Thursday after deals on banking resolution and the long-term EU budget gave their summit a much needed lift.
At least 22 killed as bombs tear through coffee shops in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Bombs exploded in busy coffee shops and at other targets across Iraq late on Thursday, killing at least 22 people, police and medics said.
