Myanmar's military has stepped up attacks on ethnic Kachin rebels in recent days with airstrikes. This move calls into question efforts by the United States and other international powers to richly and quickly reward the nominally civilian regime there for a series of gestures toward political reform.US State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told reporters yesterday that the Obama administration...
US drone strike in Pakistan kills influential Taliban commander
Labels: WorldKey Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir – considered a "good" Taliban by some among the Pakistani military – died in a US drone strike that left at least six dead on Thursday, according to local reports.According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, Taliban and local government officials confirm that Mr. Nazir and at least two of his deputies were killed when a US drone hit their vehicle in South Waziristan,...
Russia plans biggest war games since Soviet era
Labels: WorldThe Russian navy has announced that it will hold its biggest war games since Soviet times in the Mediterranean and Black seas later this month.The ambitious exercises, which will involve ships from all four major Russian fleets, are a sign of growing confidence on the part of Russia's military as it begins to enjoy the benefits of President Vladimir Putin's huge budget allocations for renewing and...
Gerard Depardieu's latest drama: a Russian passport
Labels: WorldVladimir Putin flourished his pen Thursday morning and signed what must be the oddest decree of his long years in power: an order granting a Russian passport to French actor and tax exile Gerard Depardieu.A terse announcement posted on the Kremlin website noted that Mr. Putin acted "to satisfy an application for citizenship of the Russian Federation by Gerard Xavier Depardieu, who was born in 1948...
Backward step for reform in Myanmar?
Labels: WorldMyanmar's military has stepped up attacks on ethnic Kachin rebels in recent days with airstrikes. This move calls into question efforts by the United States and other international powers to richly and quickly reward the nominally civilian regime there for a series of gestures toward political reform.US State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told reporters yesterday that the Obama administration...
Jan
03
Fed minutes short-circuit Wall Street rally
Labels: BusinessNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dipped on Thursday after signs the Federal Reserve has growing concern about its highly stimulative monetary policy, giving investors reason to pull back after a two-day rally.The minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting, released on Thursday, showed increasing reticence about adding to the central bank's $2.9 trillion balance sheet, which it expanded sharply in response...
Hong Kong shares may trim strong 2013 start after Fed voices concern
Labels: BusinessHONG KONG, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares could end atwo-day rally on Friday, tracking Wall Street weakness aftersigns that the U.S. Federal Reserve has growing concerns aboutits stimulative monetary policy.Any losses could be limited if mainland China markets reopenstrongly on Friday, trading for the first day in 2013 after athree-day New Year holiday.On Thursday, the Hang Seng Index ended up...
Asia stocks eke out gains on China hopes, oil eases
Labels: BusinessHONG KONG (Reuters) - Most Asian stock markets edged higher on Thursday on hopes of a steady economic revival in China, although oil gave back part of the previous session's strong gains as investors took some money off the table and braced for more U.S. budget battles.The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index of stocks rose 0.2 percent following Wednesday's 2 percent jump on relief that U.S. politicians...
South African rand weakens in muted trade
Labels: BusinessJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand softened against the dollar on Thursday in thin post-holiday trade, underperforming many emerging market currencies.The rand was at 8.5168 to the dollar at 0651 GMT, 0.3 percent weaker than Wednesday's New York close, making it one of the worst performers in a basket of 20 emerging market currencies monitored by Reuters.It had reached a 3-month high of...
Brent falls towards $112; China data offsets US concerns
Labels: Business Brent crude pared earlier losses to stay above $112 a barrel on Thursday as positive data reinforced hopes of an economic recovery in China, but the prospect of more budget battles in the United States and rising oil supply weighed on prices.President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans face even bigger budget wrangling in the next two months after a hard-fought deal halted a round of...
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