Europe

Italian PM to present EU new budget proposal in next few hours – paper

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will present a new budget proposal in the next few hours, he told the Avvenire daily, aiming to avoid a disciplinary procedure by Brussels. Italy has drafted an expansionary budget that forecasts the deficit to rise to 2.4 percent of

Middle East

Turkey’s Erdogan slams Venezuela sanctions, Maduro defends gold exports

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

CARACAS (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday criticized sanctions on Venezuela during a visit to Caracas, while President Nicolas Maduro defended the country’s right to export gold after U.S. sanctions last month targeted its shipments of the metal. Washington has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan officials it accuses of corruption, and on

USA

Venezuela’s Maduro says on his way to Russia to meet with Putin

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said late on Monday he was on his way to Russia to meet with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Maduro wrote on his official Twitter page he was headed to an “important work meeting” with Putin. (Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Darren Schuettler)

Asia

Human rights law group calls for tribunal on crimes against Rohingya

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A human rights law group contracted by the U.S. State Department to investigate atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar called on Monday for the urgent establishment of a criminal tribunal to bring those responsible to justice. There were reasonable grounds to believe the Myanmar military committed crimes against humanity, genocide and

USA

Trump urges ‘full sentence’ for his ex-lawyer Cohen in Russia probe

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Monday called for a “full and complete” sentence for his former lawyer Michael Cohen, accusing him of lying about Trump’s business dealings with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign to get reduced jail time. Cohen, who is cooperating with a federal probe into whether Trump’s campaign

USA

Washington pays respects to Bush as he lies in state at Capitol

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Washington’s political elite paid tribute to former U.S. President George H.W. Bush as his body lay in state in the Capitol on Monday, evoking a bygone era of bipartisan civility in American politics. Before a grieving Bush family and with hands on hearts, members of Bush’s Cabinet, lawmakers, the vice president and […]

Asia

Cambodia eases pressure on opposition, media after EU sanctions threat

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia’s parliament is reviewing a five-year ban on more than 100 members of the main opposition party, which could allow them to return to politics, following threats by the European Union to deny duty-free trading access to the Southeast Asian nation. The EU last month began a formal procedure to strip […]

USA

Number of dead, missing in California’s deadliest wildfire drops

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

(Reuters) – The death toll in California’s deadliest wildfire was revised downward to 85 and the number of people believed missing dropped again to 11, down from a high of more than 1,200 about two weeks ago, officials said Monday. The number of dead was revised from 88 after DNA tests on remains by the […]

Asia

In ‘new Malaysia’, race continues to cast a long shadow

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Just months after a stunning election victory, Malaysia’s prime minister has had to step in to mollify the country’s majority Malay Muslims in recent weeks, underlining a weighty challenge confronting his multi-ethnic, reformist coalition: race. When riots erupted at a Hindu temple outside the capital, Kuala Lumpur, last week,

Asia

South Korean President says visit from North Korea’s Kim ‘a possibility’

Editorial Bureau December 4, 2018

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday a visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “a possibility” and that such a trip would help to improve Pyongyang’s relationship with the United States. Moon made the comment when asked by reporters during a state visit to New Zealand […]