Exclusive: Egypt blocked Facebook Internet service over surveillance - sources

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Egypt blocked Facebook Inc's Free Basics Internet service at the end of last year after the U.S. company refused to give the Egyptian government the ability to spy on users, two people familiar with the matter said.


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Death toll in India flyover collapse rises to 23, with 90 rescued

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - The death toll in the collapse of a flyover under construction in the Indian city of Kolkata rose to 23 on Friday, after rescuers worked through the night with cranes and jackhammers to clear huge slabs of steel and concrete.











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North Korea appears to have fired missile into sea: South Korea military

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a missile into the sea off its east coast on Friday, the South's military said, hours after the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States warned Pyongyang to end provocations or face more pressure.


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White House: Obama, Turkey's Erdogan discuss security in meeting

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Turkey's security during a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, while also discussing both countries' efforts to fight Islamic State, the White House said.











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U.S., Japan, South Korea warn North Korea over 'provocations'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama joined with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, vowing to ramp up pressure on North Korea in response to its recent nuclear and missile tests.











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Xi says China will defend its South China Sea sovereignty

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China is resolute in defending its sovereignty in the South China Sea, and believes the disputes should be settled peacefully by relevant claimants through direct talks, Xinhua said.











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China calls Obama, Xi talks 'constructive'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China said talks on Thursday between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama were constructive, even as the two sides remained far apart on the South China Sea and U.S. missile defense plans for South Korea.


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After migrant deaths, groups seek policing of Canada authorities

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The deaths of two migrants while in detention in Canada prompted calls on Thursday for policing of border authorities in the nation that has opened its doors to thousands of Syrian refugees.


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Cow bells in the DMZ: Swiss, Swedish generals uphold Korean truce their way

PANMUNJOM, South Korea (Reuters) - In a tiny mess hall set amid pine trees and rose bushes on the heavily fortified Korean border, a lunch of steak and asparagus is served. Outside, birdsong competes with the drone of North Korean loudspeakers blaring propaganda.


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Obama, Hollande discuss deepening counterterrorism ties

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said he discussed with French President Francois Hollande at a meeting on Thursday efforts to deepen U.S.-French cooperation on counterterrorism.


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Brazil's top court removes Lula probe from crusading judge

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to remove a corruption investigation into former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from the jurisdiction of a lower court judge who released a wiretapped conversation of him with President Dilma Rousseff.











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Two killed, 15 injured in central Somalia mosque blast

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Two people were killed and 15 others wounded when an explosion ripped through a mosque in the central Somalia region of Hiiraan during evening prayers on Thursday, police said.


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FBI teams helping Belgium investigate recent attacks: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has sent FBI teams to help Belgian authorities investigate the March 22 attacks that killed 35 people, including several Americans, and U.S. and Belgian officials will discuss the cooperation this week, the White House said on Thursday.











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EU expands sanctions against North Korea to match U.N. move

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union on Thursday expanded trade and financial sanctions on North Korea, following up on harsh new measures imposed by the U.N. Security Council earlier this month.


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Brazil security official steps down ahead of Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The commander of a Brazilian security force involved in preparations for the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro has stepped down amid reports that he criticized embattled President Dilma Rousseff in a message to subordinates.


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Libyan unity government starts work from 'secured' Tripoli naval base

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's U.N.-backed unity government held meetings at a heavily guarded naval base in Tripoli on Thursday and a senior military official said it was working to secure state institutions in the capital.


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Kenya's Kenyatta chides opposition after speech disrupted

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta challenged the opposition on Thursday to come up with alternative policies rather than indulging in the "sport" of criticising after whistling opposition lawmakers disrupted his annual speech to parliament.











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Greece, Turkey take legal short-cuts in race to return migrants

BRUSSELS/ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Turkey are rushing through changes to their asylum rules in a race to implement a EU-Turkey agreement on the return of refugees and migrants from Greek islands to Turkey from next Monday, EU officials and diplomats said.











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Car bomb attack kills four police in Turkey's Diyarbakir: official

ANKARA/DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A car bomb attack killed four Turkish police officers and wounded 20 other people in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Thursday, a government official said, the latest violence to hit the biggest city in the largely Kurdish region.











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Canada court seeks Vice News reporter's chat logs with alleged militant

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian court has ordered a Vice News reporter to give police his communications with a man police have alleged is an Islamic State fighter and charged with terrorism-related offences.


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Vatican investigates claim hospital funds used to refurbish cardinal's flat

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Thursday it is investigating two former officials over claims money meant for a children's hospital was used to refurbish a cardinal's luxury apartment.


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Iraqi PM names new cabinet to fight corruption

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi named Nizar Salem al-Numan as a candidate for the key post of oil minister on Thursday as part of a cabinet reshuffle aimed at fighting corruption, state television said citing its correspondent.











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India overpass collapse kills 14; scores feared trapped

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - An overpass under construction in the bustling Indian city of Kolkata collapsed on Thursday on to vehicles and street vendors below, killing at least 14 people with more than 100 people feared trapped.











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Bahrain punishes opponents by revoking their citizenship

MANAMA (Reuters) - The decision to revoke Taimoor Karimi's Bahraini citizenship was read out on state media late one night while he was fast asleep at his home in the capital Manama. His children woke him up to break the news.


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Chastened Hollande faces fresh protest over French labor law

PARIS (Reuters) - French rail and air traffic suffered serious disruption on Thursday after transport staff stopped work and took to the streets along with high-school students to challenge plans for a pro-business loosening of the country's protective labor laws.


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U.N. envoy says Cambodia tensions near 'dangerous' tipping point

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights envoy on Thursday urged Cambodia to ensure judicial fairness and prevent threats and violence as political tension moves the country closer to a "dangerous tipping point".











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U.N. tribunal acquits Serbian firebrand Seselj of war crimes

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.N. judges acquitted Serbian nationalist firebrand Vojislav Seselj of war crimes and crimes against humanity on Thursday, a shock verdict that delivered a boost to his anti-EU Serbian Radical Party ahead of April elections.











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Kremlin denies report of Russia-U.S. deal on Assad's future

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that a report by the al-Hayat newspaper on an agreement between Russia and the United States on the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not true.


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U.S. anti-drug plane for Afghanistan still flightless after $86 million: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government spent $86 million over seven years developing a counter-narcotics surveillance aircraft for Afghanistan, but the plane has never carried out a mission and is sitting idle in Delaware, a watchdog said on Wednesday.


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South Africa's top court says Zuma must reimburse state

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma failed to "uphold, defend and respect" the constitution when he ignored the order of an anti-corruption watchdog to repay some of the $16 million spent to upgrade his private home, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday.











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Serbian radical politician Seselj acquitted of war crimes

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.N. judges on Thursday acquitted Serbian firebrand politician Vojislav Seselj of all the counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity he faced, delivering a boost to his Serbian Radical Party ahead of an election in April.


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UK voters shift slightly towards staying in EU: ORB poll

LONDON (Reuters) - Support among Britons for staying in the European Union has increased slightly since last month giving the "In" campaign a narrow lead ahead of a June referendum, an ORB poll for the Independent said on Thursday.











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Hungarian Nobel laureate Kertesz dies aged 86: state news agency MTI

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian novelist and Auschwitz survivor Imre Kertesz, winner of the 2002 Nobel Literature Prize, died on Thursday at the age of 86 after a long illness, state news agency MTI reported, citing his publisher.


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Italy police arrest suspected 'hospital ward' serial killer

ROME (Reuters) - A woman suspected of murdering 13 patients in a Tuscan hospital in 2014 and 2015 has been arrested, Italian police said in a statement on Thursday.











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Argentine Senate approves deal to end debt dispute, re-enter markets

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's Senate gave the green light to a landmark deal to repay creditors holding defaulted debt in the early hours of Thursday, marking the end of a 14-year legal battle that had made the country a global financial pariah.











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U.N. widens probe of fresh Central Africa sex abuse allegations

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Wednesday said it has widened an investigation of allegations sexual exploitation and abuse by foreign peacekeepers in Central African Republic and notified authorities in France, Gabon and Burundi about the charges.


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U.S., Nigeria set up working groups on security, economy, corruption

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Nigeria on Wednesday agreed to establish working groups focused on strengthening security cooperation, the economy and tackling corruption after day-long talks at the State Department.











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Pentagon to send about a dozen Guantanamo inmates to other countries soon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has notified the U.S Congress that it plans to transfer about a dozen prisoners held at the Guantanamo military prison to at least two countries, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, the latest move in President Barack Obama's push to close the facility.


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Nuclear terrorism fears loom over Obama's final atomic summit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just as fears of nuclear terrorism are rising, U.S. President Barack Obama's drive to lock down vulnerable atomic materials worldwide seems to have lost momentum and could slow further.


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Kerry calls for 'ultimate resolution' of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Wednesday for "an ultimate resolution" of the two-decade-old Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia during talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev at the State Department.


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North Korea in 'top-speed dash' for May congress, Kim's nuclear policy

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is poised to declare his signature ruling policy during a rare party congress in May and despite tough new U.N. sanctions, it is likely to be the twin pursuit of nuclear prowess and economic development.











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Serbian firebrand Seselj faces verdict in U.N. war crimes trial

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.N. judges rule on Thursday in the war crimes trial of Vojislav Seselj, a Serbian nationalist politician accused of stoking murderous ethnic hatred during the 1990s wars prompted by the break-up of federal Yugoslavia.











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Obama could decide on greater troop presence in Iraq soon: general

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will have the chance to decide on whether to increase the number of U.S. forces in Iraq in the "coming weeks," the top U.S. general said on Wednesday.











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Rousseff calls impeachment effort 'coup', vows to keep social programs

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday called current efforts to impeach her in Congress a "coup" and said she would continue to fight for social programs despite an ongoing recession.











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Turkey's Erdogan to meet with Biden on summit sidelines: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will sit down with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden this week on the sidelines of a nuclear summit, and will likely have a chance to speak with President Barack Obama as well, the White House said on Wednesday.


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Colombia, ELN rebels to begin peace talks in Ecuador

CARACAS/BOGOTA (Reuters) - The Colombian government will begin formal peace talks with leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels, moving the country a step closer to ending its five-decade-old conflict, the two sides said in joint statement on Wednesday.











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Assad says he can form new Syria government with opposition

MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad said it would not be difficult to agree a new Syrian government including opposition figures, but his opponents responded on Wednesday that no administration would be legitimate while he remained in office.











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Libya's U.N.-backed Presidential Council reaches Tripoli by ship

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Members of Libya's U.N.-backed Presidential Council reached Tripoli by ship on Wednesday, defying attempts to keep them out of the city and prevent them from installing a unity government.











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U.N. expert decries Israeli soldier's killing of Palestinian attacker

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A U.N. expert on human rights on Wednesday condemned the killing by an Israeli soldier of a wounded Palestinian assailant last week as he lay on the ground, saying it appeared to be an extrajudicial execution.


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Iraqi PM to present new cabinet lineup to parliament on Thursday

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday he would present to parliament on Thursday his new cabinet lineup which is aimed at fighting graft.


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Uncertainty in Turkey as migrant returns set to start under EU deal

ANKARA (Reuters) - Five days before Turkey is due to start taking back illegal migrants from Greece under a landmark deal with the European Union, uncertainty remains over how many will come, how they will be processed, and where they will be housed.











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Tears flow as Myanmar swears in first president with no army ties in over 50 years

NAYPYITAW/YANGON (Reuters) - Members of Aung San Suu Kyi's victorious National League for Democracy (NLD) were in tears on Wednesday as Myanmar swore in its first president with no military ties in more than half a century.











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Pictures, plans of Belgian PM's office found on bombers' PC: paper

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Pictures and plans of Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel's residence and offices were found on a computer discovered after a raid on a flat used by the men suspected of carrying out last week's deadly bombings in Brussels, Belgian media reported.


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Germany, EU reject Turkish protest against Erdogan satire

BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany and the European Union rejected protests by Turkey over a satirical German television show that mocked President Tayyip Erdogan, saying press freedom was sacrosanct, just as the EU is banking on Ankara's help in solving its migrant crisis.











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Around 20 Islamic State recruiters arrested in Moscow: RIA

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Around 20 Islamic State followers were arrested in Moscow trying to recruit new fighters for the group, Russia's RIA news agency cited a security source as saying on Wednesday.


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U.N. chief urges countries to resettle Syrian refugees, but pledges are few

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on countries on Wednesday to re-settle nearly half a million Syrian refugees in the next three years, though only Italy, Sweden and the United States immediately announced concrete plans to play a part.











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Iraqis kept in the dark about Mosul Dam emergency plans

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Despite intense U.S. pressure to act to keep Iraq's largest dam from collapsing, Baghdad has done little to prepare Iraqis for the possibility of a burst that could unleash a flood reaching the capital and killing hundreds of thousands of people.


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Migrant arrivals to Greece rise sharply despite EU-Turkey deal

ATHENS (Reuters) - Arrivals of refugees and migrants to Greece from Turkey rose sharply on Wednesday, just over a week since the European Union and Turkey struck a deal intended to cut off the flow.


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Assad says Damascus to base Geneva talks on U.N. document: RIA

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Damascus will base its dialogue on solving the Syrian conflict at the next round of talks in Geneva on the United Nations basic principles document, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview with Russia's RIA news agency published on Wednesday.











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Ukraine's independent MPs boost chances of ending deadlock

KIEV (Reuters) - Several non-aligned Ukrainian lawmakers have agreed to join Ukraine's biggest faction to help end a political crisis that is stalling Western-backed reforms and vital international financial aid, deputies said on Wednesday.











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France's Hollande drops post-attack plans to change constitution

PARIS (Reuters) - France's president said on Wednesday he would not push ahead with plans to change the constitution, including a clause allowing convicted terrorists to be stripped of their French nationality, after parliament failed to agree on the measure.


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Khamenei says missiles, not just talks, key to Iran's future

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's top leader on Wednesday said missiles were key to the Islamic Republic's future, offering support to the hardline Revolutionary Guards that have drawn criticism from the West for testing ballistic missiles.











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Italy demands release of marine on day India seeks better ties at summit

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Italy on Wednesday asked judges in The Hague to order India to release a detained Italian marine, hours before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was due at an EU-India summit in Brussels at which he aims to defuse the long-running row with Rome.











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Court dismisses Malaysia Airlines' bid to strike out MH370 suit

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian court on Wednesday dismissed a bid by national flag carrier Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) to throw out a suit filed by relatives of three passengers who went missing on flight MH370, opening the way for other relatives to sue the airline.


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Exclusive: Russia, despite draw down, shipping more to Syria than removing

MOSCOW (Reuters) - When Vladimir Putin announced the withdrawal of most of Russia's military contingent from Syria there was an expectation that the Yauza, a Russian naval icebreaker and one of the mission's main supply vessels, would return home to its Arctic Ocean port.


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Cyprus remands suspected hijacker who wanted to see ex-wife

LARNACA, Cyprus (Reuters) - A court in Cyprus on Wednesday remanded an Egyptian national in custody on suspicion of hijacking an EgyptAir aircraft with a fake suicide belt and diverting it to the east Mediterranean island.











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From Senegal to Libya: an African student joins Islamic State

ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal (Reuters) - When Sadio Gassama decided to go into medicine, he started by giving free check-ups at his mosque in Senegal's poor southern region of Casamance. Now, the 25-year-old medical student says he is treating Islamic State fighters in Libya.











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Turkish firms in Russia struggle as diplomatic row rages

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Four months after President Vladimir Putin accused Ankara of a "stab in the back", Turkish business executives in Russia are getting used to saying hasty goodbyes.


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Indonesia pushes to unshackle victims of mental illness

SERANG, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesian rice farmer Usman has kept his 19-year-old son chained in the family's tiny wooden hut for more than a month, reluctant to release the mentally disturbed boy for fear he might wander off and steal neighbors' livestock.











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China warns Taiwan over new law governing cross-strait relations

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government warned Taiwan on Wednesday that the passage of a proposed new law governing relations between the two could seriously damage the basis for talks, and that Beijing opposed any obstacles to developing ties.


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Mexico says experts investigating 43 students will cease work in April

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An international panel of experts that picked apart the Mexican government's account of what happened to 43 students who disappeared in 2014 will cease work in the country by late April, a senior government official said on Tuesday.











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Thailand eyes luxury tourists, operators say keep them safe

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand needs to do more to keep its tourists safe if it wants to achieve its objective of attracting more high-end travelers, operators say, or it risks losing out to its up-and-coming neighbors.











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Overhaul urged for scandal-hit U.N. assembly chief's office

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A United Nations task force recommended in a report on Tuesday new ethical rules and financial disclosures for the office of the presidency of the U.N. General Assembly after a bribery scandal involving a former assembly head.


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Newly displaced feel joy and fear as Iraqi army returns ahead of Mosul campaign

MAKHMOUR, Iraq (Reuters) - Joy and fear were what Um Mahmoud felt when she saw the Iraqi flag for the first time since Islamic State insurgents raised their black banner over her village of Khurbardan nearly two years ago.











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Exclusive: Iran missile tests were 'in defiance of' U.N. resolution - U.S., allies

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - By launching nuclear-capable missiles Iran has defied a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed last year's historic nuclear deal, the United States and its European allies said in a joint letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.


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Two Venezuelan police officers killed in protest

SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) - Two police officers were killed and four wounded on Tuesday in the western Venezuelan city of San Cristobal after they were hit by a bus driven by young men protesting a hike in public transport fares, according to government officials and Reuters witnesses.











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FBI warned Dutch about El Bakraoui brothers week before Brussels attacks

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told Dutch police that two brothers were being sought by Belgian authorities a week before the pair blew themselves up in suicide attacks in Brussels, the Dutch interior minister said on Tuesday.











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Somali pirates on trial in Paris for 2011 hijacking of yacht in Gulf of Aden

PARIS (Reuters) - Seven Somali men accused of hijacking a French yacht in an assault in which its owner was killed and his wife abducted in the Arabian Sea four years ago appeared before a French court on Tuesday, all facing life sentences.


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Kosovo man wanted by FBI may face extradition after accord with U.S

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo signed an extradition agreement with Washington on Tuesday, clearing the way for a man suspected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of being an Islamist militant to be sent to the United States.


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U.S. orders military families to leave parts of Turkey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Tuesday it has ordered the families of its personnel to leave parts of southern Turkey over "continued security concerns in the region."











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Putin: Russian arms exports hit $14.5 billion in 2015, more than planned - agencies

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's arms exports totaled $14.5 billion last year, more than originally planned, Russian news agencies quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying on Tuesday.











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Family of slain Italian student demands strong response to Egypt

ROME (Reuters) - The parents of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, who was tortured and killed in Cairo, demanded on Tuesday a tough response from Rome if Egypt fails to uncover the truth behind their son's murder.











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North Korea fires short-range missile along its coast

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea test-fired a short-range missile on its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, amid heightened tension over the isolated country's nuclear and rocket programs.











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Pakistan detained more than 5,000 after Easter bombing killed 70

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities detained more than 5,000 suspects, then released most of them, in the two days since a suicide bomber hit a park in the eastern city of Lahore at Easter, killing at least 70 people, a provincial minister said on Tuesday.











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Chinese, Czech presidents forge strategic partnership on Prague visit

PRAGUE (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping and his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman signed an agreement on a strategic partnership on Tuesday, meant to step up business ties and investments.


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Britain EU 'In' campaign holds 8-point lead over 'Out': Ipsos MORI poll

LONDON (Reuters) - The campaign to keep Britain inside the European Union has an 8 percentage point lead over those pushing for an exit from the bloc, an opinion poll showed on Tuesday.


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Calls mount to stop abuse of migrant workers in Italy's 'red gold': the tomato sector

PUGLIA, Italy (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Baah, a tall, broad-shouldered Ghanaian man, stares through a grimy window, his face a study of disappointment as he watches a chill wind cast ripples over fields of corn in southern Italy.


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Iranian expats hard to woo as Western firms seek foothold in Iran

LONDON (Reuters) - International firms are hunting for Western-educated Iranians to take on executive jobs in the Islamic Republic after the removal of most sanctions, but are finding it hard to win them over.


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Turkey's Erdogan says will meet Obama at summit this week

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he would meet President Barack Obama at a nuclear summit in Washington this week, amid differences over Syria and Turkey's domestic policy direction.


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Brussels airport aims for limited reopening this week

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels airport on Tuesday began trying out a make-shift check-in area that could allow a limited restart of passenger flights in the coming days after the attacks last week.


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EgyptAir plane hijacked to Cyprus, most passengers freed

LARNACA, Cyprus, March 29 (Reuters) - A man thought to be strapped with explosives hijacked an Egyptian plane on a flight between Alexandria and Cairo on Tuesday and forced it to land in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said.











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Myanmar lifts state of emergency in conflict-torn Rakhine state

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar President Thein Sein, in a surprise move hours before leaving office, lifted a state of emergency in the restive western state of Rakhine, imposed after clashes between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims in 2012.


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Tymoshenko's Fatherland Party won't join Ukraine coalition unless conditions met

KIEV (Reuters) - The head of Ukraine' Fatherland Party, Yulia Tymoshenko, said on Tuesday that her party had up to 15 conditions that needed to be met before a coalition could be formed.


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EU puts Britons at risk from dangerous criminals, 'Out' campaigners say

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union puts British families at risk by allowing the free movement of dangerous criminals, campaigners who want Britain to leave the bloc said on Tuesday, an argument dismissed as "scaremongering of the worst kind" by EU supporters.


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Ukraine General Prosecutor fires senior reformist prosecutor

KIEV (Reuters) - Senior Ukrainian prosecutor and anti-corruption campaigner Davit Sakvarelidze has been fired by General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin, Shokin's deputy Vladyslav Kutsenko said on Tuesday.


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Week after attack, Belgium reopens wounds

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Manneken Pis, the cherubic little statue insouciantly relieving himself in the heart of Brussels, has become a cheeky symbol of Belgian resistance to terror in the week since suicide bombers struck the capital.











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Explosion in central Baghdad kills one, wounds nine: Sumaria TV

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least one person was killed and nine wounded in an explosion on Tuesday morning in central Baghdad, the independent al-Sumaria TV said, citing a police source.


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Japan public divided as laws easing limits on military take effect

TOKYO (Reuters) - Laws loosening the limits of Japan's pacifist constitution on its military took effect on Tuesday as surveys showed the public remained divided over a change that allows Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.











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China military commemorates key victory over Taiwan forces

BEIJING (Reuters) - As Taiwan prepares to usher in a new president in May, Chinese sailors this week threw flowers into the sea to mark a key but little-known victory against Nationalist forces, who fled to the island after a civil war defeat by the Communists in 1949.


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Amid sea dispute, China calls for deeper defense ties with Vietnam

BEIJING (Reuters) - The militaries of China and Vietnam should deepen their exchanges, communication and friendship, China's defense minister said during a visit to Hanoi, amid a festering territorial dispute in the South China Sea.











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Libya unity government blames rival faction for Tripoli airspace closure

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's U.N.-backed unity government has accused authorities in Tripoli of closing down the capital's airspace to prevent it from traveling from Tunisia to start work.


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Egypt's Sisi sacks top auditor who alleged mass state corruption

CAIRO (Reuters) - President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday sacked Egypt's top auditor who had stirred controversy by publicly concluding that government corruption had cost the country billions of dollars.


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Unable to sell cattle, Indian farmers have a beef with Modi's BJP

BELHE, India (Reuters) - A ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in India's richest state is threatening to push millions of farmers into penury, deepening distress in the countryside and fanning resentment against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party.











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Obama, Korea's Park, Japan's Abe to discuss North Korea on Thursday: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the White House said on Monday.


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Burundi, Morocco troops accused of Central African Republic abuse: U.N.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Monday it had received new allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation against U.N. peacekeepers from Morocco and Burundi in Central African Republic, including one that involved a 14-year-old girl.











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Turkey summoned German ambassador over satirical report: Spiegel

BERLIN (Reuters) - Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned Germany's ambassador last week over a satirical broadcast by German television station NDR, Spiegel magazine's online edition reported on Monday.


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Iran's answer to pop stars: religious singers serenade Syria war

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Bearded and boisterous, the man wearing a chequered keffiya scarf sings a religious song as several Iranians in fatigues beat their chests feverishly.


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Fighting between militant groups in Syria border region spills into Lebanon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fighting between Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front spread from Syria into Lebanon's northern Bekaa Valley region on Monday, a security source and the state news agency said.











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Gunfight in Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp kills two

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two people were shot dead and others injured on Monday in a Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon after a dispute between rival political groups triggered bursts of gunfire, Reuters witnesses said.


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Seventeen activists sentenced for rebelling against Angolan government

LUANDA (Reuters) - An Angolan court sentenced 17 young activists to between two and 8-1/2 years in jail on Monday for rebellion against the government of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.


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Afghan gunmen free kidnapped Tajiks

SHURO-OBOD, Tajikistan (Reuters) - Gunmen from Afghanistan have released two Tajik road workers kidnapped in a cross-border raid last week, Tajikistan's border guard service said on Monday.











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Philippines' Abu Sayyaf abducts 10 Indonesian sailors

MANILA (Reuters) - Ten Indonesian crew members on board a tugboat were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines at the weekend, officials in Manila said late on Monday.











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Brazil party set to abandon Rousseff, eyes presidency

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's largest party will decide on Tuesday to break away from President Dilma Rousseff's floundering coalition, party leaders said, sharply raising the odds she will be impeached amid a corruption scandal.


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Rhetoric heats up as old rivals Bolivia and Chile clash over water access

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - South American neighbors Chile and Bolivia, which have long had thorny relations, are at loggerheads again - this time over access to a river that crosses their shared border.


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Syrian forces pursue campaign against Islamic State after retaking Palmyra

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes battled Islamic State insurgents around Palmyra on Monday, trying to extend their gains after taking back control of a city whose ancient temples were dynamited by the ultra-radical militants.











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Russia's Putin, Iran's Rouhani agree to cooperate closely on Syria

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The presidents of Russia and Iran agreed on Monday to step up bilateral contacts, including over the Syrian conflict, in which both countries are allies of President Bashar al-Assad.











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Turkey's Erdogan warns foreign diplomat over 'selfie' at journalist trial

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned a foreign diplomat on Monday over a "selfie" taken at the espionage trial of two journalists, after Britain's consul-general tweeted a photo of himself with one of the reporters.


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Japan concerned at possible Russian base on disputed island chain

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has conveyed its concern to Moscow over possible Russian plans to build a naval base on a western Pacific island chain, part of which are claimed by Tokyo, a top Japanese government spokesman said on Monday, the latest in a long-running territorial spat.


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Brussels prosecutors charge three more people with terrorist activity

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels prosecutors on Monday said they had charged three more people with participating in a terrorist group after a series of raids following bomb attacks on Brussels airport and a metro train last week.


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Iraq's parliament gives PM until Thursday to present new cabinet

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament on Monday gave Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi until Thursday to present a new cabinet lineup aimed at fighting graft, state television said.


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Dozens killed in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast: sources

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A local elected official was killed in Turkey's strife-hit southeast on Monday after a weekend of violence that also claimed the lives of almost 30 militants and soldiers, according to security sources.


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Explosions hit Afghan parliament compound, no one reported hurt

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban militants fired explosives into Afghanistan's parliament compound on Monday as the top intelligence official and caretaker minister of interior were due to speak, lawmakers and the insurgents said.











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Saudi-led alliance confirms Yemen prisoner swap

DUBAI (Reuters) - A Saudi-led military coalition on Monday confirmed it had completed a prisoner swap in Yemen, exchanging nine Saudi prisoners for 109 Yemeni nationals, Saudi state news agency SPA said.


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China official says Dalai Lama 'making a fool' of Buddhism

BEIJING (Reuters) - Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is "making a fool" of Tibetan Buddhism with suggestions he may not reincarnate, or reincarnate as something inappropriate, and the faithful are not buying it, a Chinese official wrote on Monday.


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Suspected money launderer for 'El Chapo' detained in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A man suspected of laundering money for jailed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was detained in southwestern Mexico, and faces extradition to the United States, Mexican authorities said on Sunday.


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Czechs roll out red carpet for first visit by Chinese president

PRAGUE (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping begins a two-day state visit to Prague on Monday to promote business ties, crowning efforts by Czech President Milos Zeman to build a strategic relationship with Beijing.


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Algeria helicopter crash kills at least 12 soldiers -ministry

ALGIERS (Reuters) - At least 12 Algerian soldiers were killed when a military helicopter crashed in the south of the country, the Defense Ministry said on Sunday.











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Japan opens radar station close to disputed East China Sea islands

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Monday will switch on a radar station in the East China Sea, giving it a permanent intelligence gathering post close to Taiwan and a group of disputed islands claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing.


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Mali arrests two in connection with Ivory Coast al Qaeda attack

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Authorities in Mali have arrested two men believed to be linked to an al Qaeda attack on a beach resort town in neighboring Ivory Coast that killed 19 people earlier this month, military officials said on Sunday.


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Houthis swap prisoners with Saudi Arabia: spokesman

DOHA (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthi movement said on Sunday it had exchanged prisoners with its foe Saudi Arabia as a first step toward ending a humanitarian crisis prompted by a year-long conflict that has killed at least 6,000 people.











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Dutch anti-terrorism police arrest suspect at France's request

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch anti-terrorism police on Sunday arrested a 32-year-old man in Rotterdam on suspicion of preparing an attack on France and also detained three other people, national prosecutors said.


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Brazil's PMDB plans policies for new government if Rousseff is ousted: report

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) is already working on policies including sweeping welfare cuts should their coalition partner President Dilma Rousseff be impeached and it formed the new government, a newspaper said on Sunday.


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Honduras arrests suspect in murder of environmental activist

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras has arrested a suspect in the murder of an environmental rights activist and colleague of recently slain award-winning indigenous leader Berta Caceres, officials said on Sunday.


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Ten dead, 30 injured in blast outside park in Pakistan's Lahore

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - A blast killed 10 people outside a public park in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, the capital of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's political heartland of Punjab, rescue officials said.


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UAE court sentences 11 to life in jail on terrorism charges

DUBAI (Reuters) - A court in the United Arab Emirates has sentenced 11 people charged with terrorism and raising money for al Qaeda and Islamic State in Syria to life imprisonment, state news agency WAM reported on Sunday.











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Netanyahu cabinet at odds over murder probe of soldier in Hebron shooting

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli army murder inquiry into a soldier's killing of a supine and wounded Palestinian assailant, the first such legal proceedings in six months of street violence, triggered friction on Sunday within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.


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Saudi reporter jailed for five years for insulting rulers: Amnesty

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has sentenced a journalist to five years in jail for insulting the kingdom's rulers and "inciting public opinion" on Twitter, Amnesty International said.


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Ireland marks centenary of uprising that led to independence

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Thousands of members of Ireland's armed forces marched through Dublin on Sunday to mark 100 years since the Easter 1916 uprising launched the country on the road to independence from Britain five years later.











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Use 'weapons of love' to fight evil of terrorism, pope says on Easter

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged the world in his Easter message on Sunday to use the "weapons of love" to combat the evil of "blind and brutal violence", following the attacks in Brussels.


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Suspected U.S. drone strikes in Yemen kill eight militants: residents

ADEN (Reuters) - Drone attacks killed eight men suspected of belonging to al Qaeda in southern Yemen on Saturday night, local residents said, as a U.S. campaign against the militant group goes on amid a wider civil war in the country.











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Brexit would weaken EU security, says former U.S. military commander: paper

LONDON (Reuters) - A British exit from the European Union would significantly weaken the bloc's security, David Petraeus, a former U.S. military commander and CIA director wrote on Sunday, urging Britons not to vote to leave the union at a June referendum.


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Syrian army recaptures Palmyra from Islamic State: state media

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces recaptured Palmyra on Sunday, state media and a monitoring group said, inflicting a significant defeat on the Islamic State group which had controlled the desert city since May last year.


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Gallows humor in Brussels as EU gloomily awaits British vote

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Even before the shock of last week's deadly Brussels bombings, gallows humor had taken hold in the square kilometer around Schuman Roundabout, the heart of the city's European district.











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Missing Chinese columnist released from custody: lawyer

BEIJING (Reuters) - A prominent Chinese columnist has been released after being detained earlier this month, possibly in connection with an online letter critical of China's President Xi Jinping, his lawyer said on Sunday.


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Mexicans burn Donald Trump effigies in Easter ritual

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans celebrating an Easter ritual late on Saturday burnt effigies of U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, whose anti-immigrant views have sparked outrage south of the American border.











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After somber week, Pope leads Catholics into Easter stressing hope

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - After a Holy Week blighted by bomb attacks in Brussels, Pope Francis led the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics into Easter celebrations on Saturday night by urging them not to lose hope in a gloomy world.


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Belgium charges airport suspect, calls off Brussels 'march against fear'

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian prosecutors charged three men on Saturday with terrorist offences over the Brussels bomb attacks and authorities called off a planned 'march against fear' in the jittery capital to relieve pressure on an over-taxed police force.











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Greece arrests six people for forging asylum seekers' documents

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police arrested six people on Saturday in an operation to break up a gang which counterfeited documents for asylum seekers on a Greek island, the coastguard said.


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Pakistan, Iran aim to boost trade to $5 billion

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan and Iran aim to increase annual trade volumes between the two countries to $5 billion by 2021, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday.


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Afghan electoral commission head quits, clouding political landscape

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's top electoral official resigned on Saturday, potentially complicating efforts to organize parliamentary elections for this autumn.


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Turkish soldier killed in northern Iraq after Islamic State fires rockets: army

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in northern Iraq on Saturday when rockets fired by Islamic State during clashes with Iraqi Kurdish fighters landed in a base where Turkish troops were deployed, the army said.


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Taiwan's Hung makes Nationalist Party comeback with party chief win

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party picked as its new leader a woman it had ditched as its presidential candidate weeks before January's election after a wave of criticism of her campaign.











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Turkey's Erdogan criticizes foreign diplomats for attending journalists' trial

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday harshly criticized foreign diplomats in Turkey for attending the trial of two prominent journalists charged with espionage, saying their behavior was not in line with diplomatic protocol.


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U.N. chief presses Iraq on national reconciliation to defeat Islamic State

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on the Iraqi government on Saturday to step up efforts to foster reconciliation between the nation's Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim communities in order to combat Islamic State.











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Third suspect in Brussels airport blasts identified: media

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A third man caught on CCTV footage with two bombers who attacked Brussels airport on Tuesday was named as Faycal Cheffou in Belgian media on Saturday.


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Newly-elected Benin president aims to reduce presidential terms

COTONOU (Reuters) - Newly-elected Benin president Patrice Talon plans to reduce presidential mandates to just one five-year term, he said late on Friday, after the constitutional court confirmed his election victory over prime minister Lionel Zinsou.


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Viewed as gangsters, Brussels bombers were able to plot unseen

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Bakraoui brothers' evolution from violent criminals to Islamist suicide bombers fits a pattern of time spent in jail for gun crime, followed by dodged parole meetings and missed opportunities to spot their drift into Islamic State's orbit.











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Chinese officials should be 24-hour Party people: paper

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese officials need to remain on call 24 hours a day and must not turn off their mobile phones, a newspaper run by the Communist Party said on Saturday.


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Chinese activist says family 'taken away' over letter calling for Xi to quit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York-based Chinese Internet activist told Reuters on Friday that China's authorities have detained three members of his family in connection with an open letter calling for the resignation of President Xi Jinping.


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Donations scandal another headache for Australian PM Turnbull

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's ruling Liberal Party is embroiled in a financial scandal, an unwanted additional challenge for the Australian leader as he takes the major political gamble of calling an early federal election.


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On Good Friday, Pope says Islamist militants profane God's name

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis condemned "unprecedented violence" by Islamist militants, saying at a Good Friday service that followers of religions who carried out acts of fundamentalism or terrorism were profaning God's name.


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Suicide bomber kills 26, wounds 71 south of Baghdad: official

HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide attacker detonated an explosive belt in a park outside Baghdad on Friday, killing 26 people and wounding 71, said the security head in Babel province where the bomb - claimed by Islamic State - went off.


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U.S. approves $3.2 billion sale of Boeing P-8A patrol planes to UK

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has approved the sale of up to nine Boeing Co P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes to Britain in a deal valued at up to $3.2 billion, the U.S. Defense Department said Friday.











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NATO's chief to meet with Obama in Washington in April: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on April 4 and discuss the fight against Islamic State and the migrant crisis originating in the Middle East, the White House said on Friday.


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Islamic State under siege in Palmyra, militant leader killed

BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters were on the retreat in the strategic Syrian city of Palmyra on Friday, as the United States said it likely killed several senior leaders of the militant group this week including its top finance officer.











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Brussels attacker had been on U.S. watch list before Paris attacks: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brahim El Bakraoui, one of the Brussels suicide bombers, was on a U.S. counter terrorism watch list before the November attacks in Paris and his brother Khalid was put on the list shortly afterward, sources familiar with the matter said.


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Iran air ambulance helicopter crash kills seven: state TV

ANKARA (Reuters) - An air ambulance helicopter crashed on Friday in Iran's central province of Fars, killing all seven people on board, state television reported.


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Deadly blasts hit checkpoints in Yemen's Aden - residents

ADEN (Reuters) - Three suicide bombs hit the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Friday, killing at least 20 people, residents and eye witnesses said, and Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the attacks.











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Italy rejects Egypt's claim to have found student's killers

ROME (Reuters) - Italy rejected on Friday Egypt's claim that it had identified the killers of an Italian graduate student whose tortured body was recovered last month, and Rome vowed to press on with its own murder investigation.


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Islamic State second in command likely killed: U.S

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State's second in command and other senior leaders were likely killed this week in a major offensive targeting financial operations, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the militant group.


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Russia says intl tribunal creates myth Serbs solely to blame for war crimes in former Yugoslavia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia continued to create the myth that the Serbian people were solely responsible for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia.


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Loud explosion, sirens heard in Afghan capital's diplomatic quarter

KABUL (Reuters) - A loud explosion jolted the diplomatic quarter of Afghanistan's capital on Friday evening, breaking a rare period of calm in Kabul.


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Korean-American in North Korea confesses to stealing secrets: media

SEOUL (Reuters) - A Korean-American man detained in North Korea has confessed to stealing military secrets and plotting subversion with South Koreans, the North's official news agency and foreign media reported on Friday.











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Macedonian court jails six Islamists, five more on trial

SKOPJE (Reuters) - A Macedonian court sentenced six people, including an imam, to up to seven years in prison on Friday for fighting alongside Islamist insurgents in Syria and Iraq or recruiting others to join the fight, the court said.


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Iraqi Shi'ite leader threatens unrest if reforms blocked

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim leader Moqtada al-Sadr warned political party leaders on Friday they would face street protests if they obstruct a government overhaul planned by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to fight corruption.


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Iraqi forces make slow progress south of Mosul

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces made slow progress against Islamic State in the north of the country on Friday in the second day of an offensive touted as the beginning of a broader campaign to clear areas around the city of Mosul.











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Kyrgyz, Uzbek officials meet over border standoff

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Commanders of Kyrgyz and Uzbek border guards met on Friday for the first time since both sides deployed troops and armored vehicles in a disputed area, Kyrgyzstan's border guard service said in a statement.


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Ukrainian lawyer of captured Russian soldiers found dead

KIEV (Reuters) - The body of a lawyer of two Russian servicemen on trial in Ukraine has been discovered on the grounds of a former farming collective, prosecutor Anatoly Matios said on Friday, saying two men were in custody in connection with the lawyer's death.


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Russia says to deploy new weapons on disputed Kurile islands

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will this year deploy some of its newest missile defense systems and drones on the Kurile islands where Moscow and Tokyo have rival territorial claims, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.











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Facing life sentence, Turkish journalist vows to show state crimes

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - One of two prominent Turkish journalists facing life in prison on charges of espionage vowed to make the trial, which begins on Friday, a prosecution of official wrongdoing.


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A hundred Chinese boats encroach in Malaysian waters: minister

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - About 100 Chinese-registered boats have been detected encroaching in Malaysia's waters in the disputed South China Sea, Malaysia's state news agency reported on Friday.











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Cuba's journey from rock labor brigades to the Rolling Stones

HAVANA (Reuters) - When Carlos Carnero's rock band Los Kent plugged in guitars and drums to play Rolling Stones covers on Cuba's Island of Pines in the 1960s, soldiers stopped the gig at gunpoint in minutes and marched the musicians onto a boat heading back to the mainland.











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Twelve killed in minibus crash in France

PARIS (Reuters) - A minibus traveling from Switzerland to Portugal collided with a lorry in central France on Thursday night, killing its 12 passengers and leaving four others injured, local authorities said in a statement.


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North Korea threatens South's Blue House as tensions persist

SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea, locked for weeks in exchanges of angry rhetoric and heightened military readiness, traded more threats on Friday, with Pyongyang saying its military had trained to attack Seoul's presidential Blue House.











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Thailand delays construction start for rail line to China

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has pushed back the start date for construction of a multi-billion dollar rail line to link Bangkok to southwest China after a disagreement over the cost of the project, the Thai transport minister said on Friday.


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China probes former Moutai liquor exec for graft: watchdog

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A former senior executive at Chinese liquor giant Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd is being investigated for suspected corruption, the ruling Communist Party's disciplinary watchdog said on Friday.


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Philippines releases seized North Korean ship after U.N. lifts embargo

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has released a North Korean freighter it seized nearly a month ago under tough new U.N. sanctions, after no contraband was found onboard and the ship was cleared by the United Nations, officials said on Friday.


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Pressure grows on Jakarta to tackle indigenous rights abuses

JAKARTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Indonesia's government is under pressure to boost protection for indigenous peoples' rights, after a state-led inquiry identified 40 cases in which they were violated, prompting calls for the president to set up a task force to deal with the problem.


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Morocco says Western Sahara decision 'irreversible', U.N. council 'concerned'

RABAT/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Morocco's decision to reduce United Nations staff at the Western Sahara mission is sovereign and irreversible, but the government is committed to military cooperation with the U.N. to guarantee the ceasefire there, the foreign minister said on Thursday.


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Israel slams U.N. body's call for 'blacklist' of settlement companies

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel on Thursday assailed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for adopting a measure that calls for the establishment of a database of businesses "involved in activities" in the occupied West Bank.


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Egypt says found bag belonging to murdered Italian student with criminal gang

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Interior Ministry said on Thursday that police had retrieved a bag belonging to murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni that was in the possession of a criminal gang who had been killed in a shootout.


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France says it foils advanced attack plot: minister

PARIS (Reuters) - A French national suspected of belonging to a militant network planning an attack in France was arrested on Thursday morning, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.











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Brussels bomber brothers were on U.S. watch lists before attack -sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two brothers who carried out suicide bombings in Brussels this week were known to U.S. government agencies before the attacks, according to two sources familiar with the matter.











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Lebanese newspaper to close, blames country's political problems

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese daily As-Safir is to cease its print and online operations after over 40 years, editor-in-chief and publisher Talal Salman said on Thursday, blaming falling revenues and Lebanon's political and sectarian problems.


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Syrian forces fight their way into Palmyra, as Kerry and Putin hail thaw

GENEVA/MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops backed by Russian air support fought their way into the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Thursday, their biggest offensive yet against the jihadist caliphate, as Moscow and Washington hailed cooperation to help end the civil war.











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ICC suspect Al Mahdi admits guilt over Timbuktu destruction

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A Tuareg Islamist rebel charged by the International Criminal Court with desecrating priceless monuments in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu has told judges he wishes to plead guilty to the war crimes charges he faces, the ICC's prosecutor said.


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U.S. blacklists firms, individuals over Iran missile program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted two Iranian companies on Thursday for supporting Iran's ballistic missile program and also sanctioned two British businessmen it said were helping an airline used by the country's Revolutionary Guards.


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Syrian state TV says government forces enter Islamic State-held Palmyra

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian state television said government forces fought their way into Palmyra on Thursday as the army backed by Russian air cover sought to recapture the historic city from Islamic State (IS) insurgents.


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Turkish warplanes strike PKK targets in northern Iraq: military

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes hit and destroyed nearly a dozen targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq late on Wednesday, the armed forces said, the latest operations targeting insurgent camps near the Turkish border.











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Congo president Sassou Nguesso wins re-election: interior minister

BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso has won a new five-year term with more than 60 percent of the vote, the interior minister said on Thursday, extending his decades-long rule over the oil-producing nation.


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Ex-Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic faces war crimes verdict at U.N. court

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - U.N. judges will pronounce their verdict on Thursday in the genocide trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two.


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Kerry tells Russia he wants to see further reduction in Syria violence

MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Moscow on Thursday a fragile partial truce in Syria had reduced levels of violence there, but that he wanted to see a further reduction as well as greater flows of humanitarian aid.











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Iraqi army starts offensive in region around Mosul, State TV says

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's armed forces started an offensive against Islamic State on Thursday in the region around Mosul with air cover from the U.S.-led coalition, pushing the militants out of several villages, according to a military statement read on state TV.











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Two Palestinians who stabbed Israeli soldier shot dead in West Bank: army

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Two Palestinian assailants who attacked an Israeli soldier in the occupied West Bank town of Hebron on Thursday were shot dead by other troops at the scene, the military said in a statement.


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Obama to honor Argentina's 'Dirty War' victims on coup anniversary

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will honor victims of Argentina's "Dirty War" on Thursday, the 40th anniversary of a military coup that led to a seven-year crackdown against Marxist rebels, labor unions and leftist opponents.


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U.S. frustration simmers over Belgium's struggle with militant threat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shortly after last November’s attacks on Paris by a Brussels-based Islamic State cell, a top U.S. counter-terrorism official traveling in Europe wanted to visit Brussels to learn more about the investigation.











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Sudanese forces silence female activists with violence, rape-rights group

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sudanese security forces have used threats, assault and rape to silence female human rights activists, forcing many to abandon their work or flee the country, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.


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Feds bust drug smuggling ring using tunnel under U.S.-Mexico border

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - U.S. federal agents have arrested four people and seized nearly 3,000 pounds of marijuana in an operation to bust a drug smuggling ring that had tunneled under the U.S.-Mexico border, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.


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Australia says Mozambique debris most likely from MH370

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia said on Thursday that plane debris recovered earlier this month from Mozambique was highly likely to have come from a Malaysia Airlines jet missing for more than two years.


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EU helps protect UK energy supply from Russia's Putin, says pro-EU minister

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's membership of the European Union helps secure the country's energy supply from any possible threat by Vladimir Putin's Russia to restrict gas flows, energy minister Amber Rudd will say on Thursday.


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Colombian government, rebels miss deadline to reach peace deal

HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombian peace negotiators missed Wednesday's deadline for a final accord but will continue talks in Havana to end Latin America's longest war, a government official said.











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North Korea claims successful rocket engine test boosts capability: KCNA

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea, supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, successfully tested a solid-fuel rocket engine that increased power of the reclusive state's ballistic rockets, North Korea's state news agency reported on Thursday.


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With education, child marriage drops in Bangladesh, study says

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The rate of child marriages in Bangladesh could drop by a third when girls are educated and taught job skills, according to a study released on Wednesday on ways to counter the practice rampant in the South Asian nation.


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U.N. rights forum sets up group to pursue crimes by North Korea

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday set up a group of independent experts to study how to bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against humanity committed by North Korea, but Pyongyang immediately rejected the move as politically motivated.


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U.S. to charge Iranians in cyber attacks including New York dam: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is expected to blame Iranian hackers as soon as Thursday for a coordinated campaign of cyber attacks in 2012 and 2013 on a suburban New York City dam and several other targets, possibly including multiple U.S. banks, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.


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Yemen fighting to halt April 10, peace talks start April 18: U.N.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a cessation of hostilities starting at midnight on April 10 and peace talks in Kuwait beginning a week later, United Nations special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Wednesday.


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Syrian government to review U.N. proposal before next round of talks

GENEVA (Reuters) - A Syrian government official said on Wednesday Damascus would respond to a U.N. proposal on the intra-Syrian peace talks at the start of the next round of negotiations, but did not say what it contained.











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In India's Kolkata, poor sleep where they work to send more money home

KOLKATA (Reuters) - In India's Kolkata, street workers from second-hand clothes sellers to rickshaw drivers say they rest and sleep where they work, too poor to afford a home of their own.











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Syrian army expects to retake Palmyra 'within hours': TV

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian soldiers and their allies advanced to within 1 km (half a mile) of Palmyra on Thursday and soldiers speaking from the outskirts of the historic city said they hoped to recapture it from Islamic State fighters within hours.


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Ex-officials at Venezuela's PDVSA pleaded guilty in bribe case: U.S.

(Reuters) - Three former officials at Venezuela's state oil company have pleaded guilty to U.S. charges related to a scheme by two businessmen to corruptly secure energy contracts, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.


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On South China Sea islet, Taiwan argues Philippines case is far from watertight

ITU ABA, South China Sea (Reuters) - On Itu Aba, in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, Taiwanese coast guard officials proudly haul a small wooden bucket of water from one of several simple concrete wells on the coral outcrop.











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More aid agencies pull out of Greek camps, spurning EU deal

LESBOS, Greece (Reuters) - More aid agencies working to alleviate conditions of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece said they were joining a boycott of detention centers on Wednesday, angered at an EU deal they say runs roughshod over human rights.











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Mali arrests 21 after attack on EU military training mission

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Authorities in Mali have arrested 21 people in connection with an attack on the headquarters of an EU military training operation there, a senior police official said on Wednesday.


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Two Iraqis sentenced in Finland for posting severed head images online

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Courts in Finland handed suspended sentences of 16 and 13 months respectively to an Iraqi Shi'ite militiaman and an Iraqi army sergeant on Wednesday for posting images of themselves holding severed heads of enemy fighters on Facebook.


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Turkey detains three on suspicion of plotting attack on German missions: media

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities have detained three men suspected to have been plotting an attack on German diplomatic missions and a German school in Turkey, the private Dogan News Agency reported on Wednesday.


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Dutch consulate in Istanbul closed due to 'possible terror' threat

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch consulate in Istanbul has been evacuated and closed temporarily due to a "possible terror threat", the foreign minister said in statement on Wednesday.


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'Memory Wound' memorial to victims of mass killer Breivik divides Norwegians

OSLO (Reuters) - A memorial to the victims of Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is dividing those affected by his attacks, with some suing the government to stop its construction and others welcoming it as a place where they can grieve.


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Russian transport regulator starts checks on budget airlines: TASS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state transport agency Rostransnadzor has started checks on budget airlines, TASS news agency reported on Wednesday.


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Obama arrives in Argentina to reset relations after years of tension

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Argentina on Wednesday to reset diplomatic relations and strengthen trade ties with a country that was part of South America's left-wing bloc until pro-business President Mauricio Macri took power in December.


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Malaysia's former PM Mahathir sues Najib, alleging corruption

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad has filed a suit against Prime Minister Najib Razak, alleging corruption and "misfeasance and breach of fiduciaries" in public office, his law firm said in a statement on Wednesday.











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Bhutan tackles violence against women for 'refusing sex, burning the dinner'

THIMPHU (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sonam Zangmo endured abuse at the hands of her husband for two years before finally walking out on him after the birth of her daughter.











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U.S. strikes al Qaeda training camp in Yemen, killing dozens

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military launched an air strike on Tuesday in the mountains of Yemen against a training camp run by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, killing dozens of its fighters, the Pentagon said.











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U.N. expert denounces scores of attacks on people with albinism

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - At least forty people with albinism have reportedly been attacked in the last eight months, the United Nations' top expert on albinism said on Tuesday in releasing a report condemning the superstitions behind the violence.


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Brazil's Rousseff says 'will never resign,' Lula meets Senate leader

BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday she will not resign in Brazil's worst political crisis in two decades, calling an opposition move to impeach her a "coup d'etat" against democratic rule because she had committed no crime.


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U.S. arrest of Iranian gold trader reopens wounds in Turkish graft scandal

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The arrest of an Iranian gold trader whom Turkish prosecutors placed at the heart of a Turkish government graft scandal two years ago hit shares in a state-run bank on Tuesday and raised opposition hopes that new light would be shed on a case it said was covered up. Reza Zarrab, 33, an Iranian-born Turkish citizen, was arrested in Florida by U.S. authorities on Saturday on charges that he and two Iranians conspired to conduct hundreds of millions of dollars in financial t


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Dutch police fire warning shot in drug suspects' arrest

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A police officer fired a warning shot during the arrests of three men near Amsterdam's central station on Tuesday evening, Dutch police said in a statement.











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Syrian opposition says no common ground with government proposals in talks

GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition said on Tuesday there was no common ground with the government after more than a week of peace talks, accusing Damascus of renewing sieges and stepping up barrel bombings on civilians.











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Britain's 'Out' campaign leads by 2 percent points ahead of EU referendum: ICM poll

LONDON (Reuters) - Support for Britain to leave the European Union stood at 43 percent, 2 percentage points ahead of support for staying in the 28-member bloc, an ICM opinion poll suggested on Tuesday.


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Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford dies of cancer at 46

TORONTO (Reuters) - Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto who gained global notoriety for admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in office, died from cancer on Tuesday, his office said in a statement.


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Slovak parties sign pact to give PM Fico third term

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia's ruling leftist party Smer and three small centrist and nationalist partners signed a coalition agreement on Tuesday, paving the way for a new government to be sworn in later this week.


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Yemen peace talks in Kuwait next month: government source

CAIRO (Reuters) - Peace talks aimed at ending Yemen's war will convene in Kuwait next month and be accompanied by a temporary ceasefire, a senior official in the Yemeni government told Reuters on Tuesday.


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Attacks on Brussels airport, metro kill at least 30

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed in attacks on Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, triggering security alerts across Europe and global expressions of support in the face of suspected Islamist attackers.











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Netanyahu hopes U.S. will reject U.N. resolution on Palestinian statehood

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he hoped the United States would continue to reject any move towards a U.N. Security Council resolution backing Palestinian statehood.


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Russian court sentences Ukraine's Savchenko to 22 years in jail

DONETSK, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko to 22 years in jail after finding her guilty of complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists during the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.


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Islamic State targets Bashiqa camp, Turkey retaliates: military sources

ANKARA (Reuters) - Islamic State militants attempted an attack on the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq on Tuesday morning and Turkish troops stationed in the camp retaliated, military sources said.


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Ukraine to call up 10,000 soldiers in new mobilization drive

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's military will call up some 10,000 men and seek volunteers to replace some of the 45,000 soldiers who are due to return home after more than a year on the front lines in the separatist east, President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday.


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Violence erupts as Jakarta cabbies protest ride-hailing apps

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian cabbies clashed with motorbike drivers working for online apps on Tuesday, pulling them off their bikes and assaulting them as thousands of drivers took to the streets of Jakarta calling for a ban on ride-hailing apps like Grab and Uber.


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From traffic light to judge's bench: an African migrant's Spanish dream

SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - Howard Jackson, a man of around 40 from the West African state of Liberia, is a well-known and colorful figure at a busy intersection entering the southern Spanish city of Seville.


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Malaysia to inspect debris in South Africa for possible MH370 link

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Tuesday it will send a team to retrieve a piece of debris found along the southern coast of South Africa to check whether it could belong to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.


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Thai charter drafters say they accept some contentious junta points

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's constitution drafters said on Tuesday they had accepted proposals from the ruling junta that critics say are designed to prolong the military's hold on power.


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China says Philippine fishermen used fire bombs in South China Sea

BEIJING (Reuters) - Philippine fishermen threw fire bombs at Chinese law enforcement vessels in the South China Sea, China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, after Philippine media said fishermen had been struck by bottles hurled from Chinese coast guard ships.


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We can't pay: Zimbabwe farmers resist compensating evicted white landowners

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's plan to win back international funding by paying compensation to white farmers forced off their land faces a major snag: the black farmers expected to stump up the cash say they don't have it.











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From poetry-lover to genocide suspect, Karadzic faces verdict

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Radovan Karadzic saw himself as locked in a David and Goliath struggle to save the Serbs even as their forces were reducing the besieged city of Sarajevo to rubble.


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Obama to end Cuba trip with dissident meeting, baseball and hope

HAVANA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with Cuban dissidents on Tuesday and watch a baseball game with the communist country's president after delivering a speech that will conclude his historic trip with a hopeful vision for future relations.











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Obama intervened over crumbling Iraqi dam as U.S. concern grew

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On Jan. 21, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iraq's prime minister in Davos, Switzerland, and handed him a personal note from President Barack Obama pleading for urgent action.


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Bonded laborers in India brick kilns slowly learn they have rights

KARJAT, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Thousands of brick kiln workers in India's western Maharashtra state are learning from activists that they have the right to a minimum wage, basic amenities and fair treatment - but remain in debt bondage to owners who deny them these rights with impunity.


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Exclusive: U.N. lifts North Korea sanctions on four ships at China's request

UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council agreed on Monday to a Chinese request to remove sanctions on four ships the United Nations had blacklisted for ties to Pyongyang's arms trade. The agreement came after China secured assurances the vessels would not use North Korean crews, a U.S. official said.


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Australia strikes threatening to choke Easter weekend air travel

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection on Tuesday joined other public sector workers in a growing strike that threatens to paralyze air travel at the nation's biggest international airports ahead of a holiday weekend.


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Australia arrests two over alleged Islamic State financing: police

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian police said on Tuesday they had arrested two people, including a 16-year-old girl, on suspicion of raising funds to support the operations of the Islamic State militant group.











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Plight of 11-year-old mother in Uganda reignites calls to stop child marriage

KAMPALA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As coordinator of a shelter for pregnant teenagers in central Uganda, Ritah Ssetumba has seen thousands of young girls struggling to cope with having a child but even she was shocked when an 11-year-old girl arrived pregnant and married.


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Peru could bar top two presidential candidates in vote buying probe

LIMA (Reuters) - The two leading candidates in Peru's presidential campaign face the possibility of being tossed from the race with three weeks to go until the election in a contest that has already seen two others disqualified.


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Gunmen attack EU military training base in Mali capital

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Gunmen on Monday attacked a hotel in Mali's capital Bamako that had been converted into a base for a European Union military training operation, but there no casualties among the mission's personnel.











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U.S. arrests Turkish businessman for scheme to evade Iran sanctions

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Turkish businessman has been arrested on U.S. charges that he and others engaged in hundreds of millions of dollars of transactions for the Iranian government or other entities as part of a scheme to evade sanctions against the country.


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Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford moved into palliative care: report

TORONTO (Reuters) - Rob Ford, the former mayor of Toronto who gained global notoriety for admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in office, has been moved into palliative care after his recent cancer treatment was unsuccessful, CP24 television reported.


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U.N. refugee chief seeks more money from East Asia, private donors

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The new United Nations refugee chief said on Monday he was seeking more money from East Asian nations as well as private donors to help cope with major refugee crises in the Middle East and Africa.


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Syrian government rules out talks on Assad future, focus is counter-terrorism

GENEVA (Reuters) - The fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is not part of the negotiations with the opposition, the head of the Syrian government's delegation said on Monday, insisting that counter-terrorism efforts remained the priority for Damascus.











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Israel brings in 19 Yemeni Jews in final immigration push

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has brought in 19 Jews from war-ravaged Yemen in what immigration officials described as the last covert operation to move members of a dwindling Jewish community dating back two millennia.











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Greece appeals for logistics aid for migrant deal to work

LESBOS, Greece (Reuters) - Greece appealed to its EU partners on Monday for logistical help to implement a deal with Turkey aimed at stemming the flow of migrants and refugees into Europe as people, many unaware of the tough new rules, continued to come ashore on the Greek islands.











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Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia demands withdrawal of U.S. force deployed in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iranian-backed militia said on Monday it said it would treat U.S. Marines deployed in Iraq to fight Islamic State as forces of occupation and "deal" with the foreign troops.


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Captured Paris attack suspect 'worth weight in gold' to police: lawyer

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The only suspected participant in Nov. 13 Paris attacks to be captured alive has been cooperating with police investigators and is "worth his weight in gold", his lawyer said on Monday.











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Russian court says Ukrainian pilot Savchenko killed reporters

DONETSK, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian judge on Monday said Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko was complicit in the killing of two Russian journalists, an assertion certain to inflame already dire relations between Moscow and Kiev.


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Russia tries to decipher crash plane pilots' final conversations

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian investigators on Monday were trying to restore the damaged cockpit voice recorder of a passenger jet which crashed at the weekend killing all 62 people onboard, in an effort to understand why it had tried to land in strong winds.











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Tanzanian ruling party wins Zanzibar presidential re-run vote: electoral body

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The ruling party candidate in Tanzania's semi-autonomous Zanzibar was declared the winner in its presidential election, the electoral commission said on Monday.


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Benin Prime Minister Zinsou concedes defeat in presidential elections

COTONOU (Reuters) - Benin Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou on Monday conceded defeat to businessman Patrice Talon in presidential elections.


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Possible debris from Malaysia Airlines MH370 arrives in Australia

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Debris found earlier this month off the southeast African coast which some believe could be from a missing Malaysia Airlines flight has arrived in Australia for testing, officials said on Monday, two years after the plane disappeared.











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Kuwait expels 14 accused of Hezbollah links: report

DUBAI (Reuters) - Kuwait has expelled 11 Lebanese and three Iraqis suspected of belonging to Hezbollah, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Monday, nearly three weeks after the country joined other Gulf Arab states in designating the Lebanese Shi'ite group a terrorist organization.


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Obama to meet Castro on historic Cuba trip

HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama turns from sightseeing to state business on his historic Cuba trip on Monday, pressing President Raul Castro for economic and democratic reforms while hearing complaints about continued U.S. economic sanctions.











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North Korea fires short-range projectiles into sea

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired multiple short-range projectiles into the sea off the country's east coast on Monday, South Korea's military said.


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China to look at free trade, rail deal with Nepal

BEIJING (Reuters) - China agreed on Monday to consider building a railway into Nepal and to start a feasibility study for a free trade agreement with the impoverished, landlocked country, which has been trying to lessen its dependence on its big neighbor to the south, India.


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Kazakh leader's party wins landslide in snap parliamentary vote

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party won 82 percent of the vote in Sunday's parliamentary election, the Central Asian nation's elections authority said on Monday, citing preliminary results.











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Taiwan security agency says China's Gambia gambit meant to pressure president

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's top security agency said on Monday China's move to set up diplomatic ties with one of the island's former African allies was meant to put pressure on President-elect Tsai Ing-wen to "fall in line" before her inauguration on May 20.


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Australian PM takes bold gamble, sets in motion July 2 poll

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull set the stage for early elections on July 2, despite signs his personal popularity is sagging, by recalling parliament in the boldest gamble of his short leadership.


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Haiti lawmakers reject prime minister's plan, deepening election uncertainty

(Reuters) - Haiti's lower chamber of parliament on Sunday rejected a program submitted by Prime Minister Fritz Jean, lawmakers said, throwing up a new hurdle as the politically volatile country struggles to meet deadlines to transfer power from an interim to an elected government.











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Biden says Israel settlements raise questions about commitment to peace

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden called on Israel's government on Sunday to demonstrate its commitment to a two-state solution to end the conflict with the Palestinians and said settlement expansion is weakening prospects for peace.


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France's Le Pen criticizes Canadian immigration, refugee policy

TORONTO (Reuters) - French right-wing politician Marine Le Pen, who is touring the Canadian province of Quebec, said on Sunday the country's immigration policy was on the "wrong path," at an event where one of her bodyguards reportedly struck a protester.


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Defiant Bosnian Serbs honor Karadzic before Hague genocide verdict

PALE, Bosnia (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb officials opened a student dormitory on Sunday named after their wartime leader Radovan Karadzic in a show of defiance before he faces Thursday's verdict on alleged genocide during the Bosnian war.











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Syria peace talks grind toward pivotal Assad question

GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrian government negotiators at Geneva peace talks are coming under unaccustomed pressure to discuss something far outside their comfort zone: the fate of President Bashar al-Assad. And they are doing their best to avoid it.











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Zanzibar holds disputed re-run vote amid tight security

ZANZIBAR (Reuters) - Tanzania's semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago went to the polls on Sunday amid tight security in a re-run of disputed elections that have been boycotted by the main opposition party.


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Rwanda takes genocide suspect into custody from Congo: officials

KIGALI (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo transferred a suspect in Rwanda's 1994 genocide to Rwanda on Sunday, Rwandan officials said.











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Iran's leaders offer different economic visions for coming year

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's two most powerful figures offered contrasting visions for the economy in speeches marking Iranian new year on Sunday, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for self-reliance and President Hassan Rouhani urging cooperation with the world.


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British minister who quit over austerity cuts says they are divisive

LONDON (Reuters) - A senior British minister who resigned on Friday said vulnerable working age people were unfairly carrying the burden of deficit reduction, belying the prime minister's claim that austerity was being shared by all.











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Paris suspect's lawyer to sue French prosecutor: media

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The lawyer defending the prime surviving suspect for the Nov. 13 Paris attacks said on Sunday he would sue a French prosecutor for divulging Salah Abdeslam's private admission that he planned to blow himself up with fellow Islamic State militants.











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Istanbul suicide bomber identified as Islamic State member: minister

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has identified the suicide bomber behind Saturday's attack in Istanbul as a member of Islamic State born in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said on Sunday.


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Former official adds to allegations against South Africa's Zuma: report

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Pressure on South Africa's President Jacob Zuma intensified on Sunday when in a newspaper interview, a former high-ranking official added to mounting allegations that Zuma had a corrupt relationship with a prominent family of business owners.


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