World
Lotto fever grips U.S. as Mega Millions jackpot hits $1 billion
(Reuters) – The drawing for the second-largest lottery prize in U.S. history, a cool $1 billion, was held on Friday as lotto fever gripped the U.S. The lucky numbers 15, 23, 53, 65, 70 and...
British royals give gift of dignity to Australia’s war dead
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, brought the gift of dignity to Australia’s war veterans on Saturday, laying a wreath for those who died at an Anzac war memorial. The Prince, in military uniform, and his wife, respectfully clothed in a high-necked black dress by New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead, silently...
Over 118,000 homes without power in Florida, Georgia after Hurricane Michael
(Reuters) – More than 118,000 homes and businesses in Florida and Georgia were still without power on Friday in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, power companies said. In total, more than 3.3 million customers lost power from Florida to New York after Michael struck the Florida Panhandle on Oct. 10 as a Category 4 storm...
Comoros authorities sign pact to end standoff on island
MORONI (Reuters) – Five days of clashes between protesters and police in Comoros’ Anjouan island have subsided after the national government, local authorities and the Anjouan capital Mutsamudu signed an accord aimed at ending the violence, officials said on Friday. Anjouan has been shaken by clashes pitting security forces against young men angry at President...
Sagrada Familia cathedral gets building licence 130 years after work began
BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) – More than 130 years after construction first began, Barcelona’s towering Sagrada Familia cathedral is finally to get a building permit, the city council and the monument’s official blog said. Cranes and scaffolding still flank the ornate spires of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi’s most famous monument, which draws some 20 million visitors...
Australia’s NAB cuts 300 staff over wrongdoing
SYDNEY (Reuters) – About 300 staff of National Australia Bank have been fired or left the company as a result of internal investigations into wrongdoing, Chief Executive Andrew Thorburn said on Friday, following public revelations of misconduct across the sector. Thorburn said he was ashamed of the bank’s behavior and admitted he had been wrong...
Briton, Canadian arrested in Thailand for graffiti on wall
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Two tourists charged with vandalism for spray painting graffiti on a wall in northern Thailand face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty, police said on Friday. Briton Furlong Lee and Canadian Brittney Schneider, both 23, were arrested at a guest house in Chiang Mai on Thursday and are being...
Russia and Uzbekistan launch work on nuclear power plant
TASHKENT (Reuters) – Russia and Uzbekistan began preliminary work on Friday on the first Uzbek nuclear power plant, a project Moscow estimates will cost $11 billion. The plant, to be largely financed by a soft loan from Russia, will allow Uzbekistan to use more of its natural gas for other purposes such as chemicals production...
U.S. student’s lawyer says “battle goes on” over Israel anti-boycott law
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A U.S. student’s court victory against the Israeli government’s attempt to bar her from the country may prove only a short reprieve in the “battle” over a law targeting some pro-Palestinian activists, one of her lawyers said on Friday. Lara Alqasem, 22, was allowed out of Tel Aviv airport on Thursday after...
Greek PM rules out snap polls after foreign minister quits
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ruled out a snap election on Friday following the resignation of his foreign minister, saying his administration still had backing from a majority of lawmakers. Nikos Kotzias unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday, becoming the first major political casualty of a Tsipras-driven campaign to end a decades-old name dispute...
Putin blames fatal college attack in Crimea on globalisation
KERCH, Crimea (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday blamed a mass shooting at a college in Crimea on globalisation, saying a problem that began in the United States had spread around the world through online communities on the Internet. An armed 18-year-old student in the Black Sea port city of Kerch killed 20...
Cameroon court rejects all petitions calling for re-run of elections
YAOUNDE (Reuters) – Cameroon’s Constitutional Council on Friday rejected the last of 18 petitions calling for a re-run of an Oct. 7 election that the opposition said was marred by fraud, paving the way for results expected to extend President Paul Biya’s 36-year rule. The rejections clear all legal objections to the polls. Nearly two...
Saudi conference boycott over Khashoggi shows political threat to economy
DUBAI (Reuters) – A Western boycott of a major business conference in Riyadh next week suggests rising political risks in Saudi Arabia could harm its ambitions to attract foreign capital and diversify its economy away from oil. Rather than whipping up interest in Saudi investment opportunities, the event risks becoming a public relations debacle because...
UK, South Korea to work on trade ties after Brexit – PM May’s office
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May agreed to work on improving trade ties with South Korea after Brexit in a meeting with President Moon Jae-in in Brussels, May’s office said. “They agreed to work closely together to transition over the existing trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union,” it added in...
Venezuela teen’s political cartoons sketch his country’s downfall
CARACAS (Reuters) – In one drawing, Lady Justice is seen fleeing Venezuela, a sword in her right hand and a suitcase in the left. In another, a crying boy tells his father he does not want school to start again. His anguished father, gazing at a list of expensive school supplies, answers: “Me neither, my...
Britain’s Harry scales Sydney Harbour Bridge, joins group hug at Bondi
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry climbed Australia’s Harbour Bridge on Friday, accompanied by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, during a royal tour that broke with the staid routine of such events to involve the royal couple in a group hug on Bondi Beach. Harry and Morrison smiled as the black, grey and yellow flag of...
Russian spying increasing – Swiss intelligence chief
BERN (Reuters) – Russian spying in Switzerland is increasing, the Swiss intelligence agency said on Friday after two high-profile cases involving suspected Russian agents trying to infiltrate sites in Switzerland. “I cannot give a lot of details about the Russian activities in Switzerland but it is clear we have more activities than before,” Jean-Philippe Gaudin,...
Migrants camp on bridge between Guatemala and Mexico as U.S. pressure mounts
TECUN UMAN, Guatemala (Reuters) – Hundreds of Central American migrants bedded down overnight on a bridge separating Guatemala and Mexico, many squeezed against a metal border gate, as efforts to halt a trek north by a caravan of thousands of people gathered pace under U.S. pressure. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned the Central American...
More precaution than promotion for Canadian cannabis tourism
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s move to legalize recreational marijuana this week is unlikely to immediately trigger a flood of pot-fueled tourism, as tour operators and consumers are unsure about rules governing the brand new industry. There are precedents for Canada to follow in California, Colorado and elsewhere. But observers noted that these U.S. states offering...
Peruvian judge frees opposition leader Fujimori from prison
LIMA (Reuters) – A Peruvian judge late on Wednesday freed conservative opposition leader Keiko Fujimori from jail where she spent the past week pending charges in a money laundering probe. Judge Cesar Sahuanay said there was no legal basis for jailing Fujimori and 19 others before trial in connection with alleged payments from Odebrecht, a...
