World

Austrian lower house passes bill on monitoring of secure messaging

VIENNA (Reuters) -Austria's lower house of parliament passed a bill on Wednesday to allow the monitoring of suspects' secure messages, in limited cases, which security officials have said would close what is a dangerous policing blind spot.

World

Women's rights face 'full-on assault' due to UN and aid funding cuts

GENEVA (Reuters) -Four major international reports on women's rights, including recommendations on how to prevent domestic violence and discrimination, will not be published this year, a U.N. document showed, part of what rights groups describe as a broader backlash against gender equality.

AseanPlus News

‘We don’t want an emperor’: Brazil’s Lula speaks up as Brics silent on tariffs

Brazilian leader doesn't think 'it's very responsible and serious for a president … of the US to threaten the world over the internet'

World

Scottish police preparing for possible Trump visit to Scotland this month

LONDON (Reuters) -Scottish police said on Wednesday they were preparing for a possible visit to the country by U.S. President Donald Trump this month, which would mark his first visit to Britain since the U.S. election last year.

World

Russia says it has evidence Ukraine has repeatedly used anti-personnel landmines

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it has evidence that Ukraine has repeatedly used anti-personnel mines which have injured civilians and so Kyiv's exit from the Ottawa Convention would have no impact on the battlefield.

World

Greece suspends asylum applications for migrants from North Africa

ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece will stop processing asylum applications of people coming from North Africa, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday, amid a surge in migrant arrivals.

China

Status, culture, cost: more Chinese students choosing Singapore as US declines

Universities in Singapore are beginning to offer programmes taught entirely in Mandarin and live support via WeChat for Chinese applicants

World

EU lawmakers reject attempt to curb far right's sway on climate talks

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected a proposal to fast-track talks on the EU's new climate target, scuttling a move by liberal, socialist and green lawmakers to try to limit the influence of climate sceptic lawmakers on the goal.

World

EU aims to stockpile critical medical supplies for future crises

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union aims to stockpile critical medical equipment and vaccines in case of future health crises and to set up a network to ease coordination among EU countries, European crisis chief Hadja Lahbib said on Wednesday.

World

France's Macron, UK's Starmer to discuss immigration, Ukraine on second day of state visit

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host French President Emmanuel Macron for lunch at Downing Street on the second day of a state visit on Wednesday, with the pair poised to discuss subjects like immigration and Ukraine.

World

Kremlin says it's unclear if CNN report that Trump threatened to bomb Moscow is fake or not

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it was not sure of the veracity of a CNN article that reported U.S. President Donald Trump had once threatened to bomb Moscow to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine.

World

Analysis-Judges keep blocking Trump's policies despite US Supreme Court injunction curbs

(Reuters) -President Donald Trump called the U.S. Supreme Court's June 27 decision limiting the ability of federal judges to use nationwide injunctions to block his policies "a monumental victory," but his legal win may be less definitive than it first appeared.

World

Faith over fear: Haitian immigrants in Springfield stand firm as Trump threatens deportation

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (Reuters) -Accompanied by their newborn son, Michelet and his wife arrived at the St. Vincent de Paul Community Center in Springfield, Ohio, last week looking for help from the non-profit's volunteers. They wanted to apply for a valuable document for the infant that for now seems out of reach for them as Haitian immigrants: a U.S. passport.

World

More than two dozen critics of Pakistan government face YouTube ban

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Alphabet-owned YouTube has told more than two dozen critics of the Pakistani government that it is considering blocking their channels after a local court sought to ban them for being "anti-state".

World

Blast hits military base in Somali capital, witness and al Shabaab group say

MOGADISHU (Reuters) -An explosion hit a military base in the Somali capital on Wednesday and was followed by gunfire, a witness said, as the al Qaeda-linked militant al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for what it described as a suicide bomb attack.

World

Pope Leo interrupts vacation to appeal for action on climate change

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (Reuters) -Pope Leo interrupted a two-week vacation on Wednesday to celebrate a special Mass exhorting Catholics to exercise care for creation, in the Vatican's second major appeal in a week for the world to address global climate change.  

World

Spain's Sanchez offers new measures to root out corruption to placate allies

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez unveiled a plan to root out corruption on Wednesday, seeking to maintain parliamentary support for his government after senior members of his governing Socialist Party were accused of embezzlement.

World

Wife buries remains of Srebrenica victim 30 years after Bosnia genocide

SREBRENIK, Bosnia (Reuters) -When the jaw bones of Mevlida Omerovic's husband were found in a mass grave in eastern Bosnia 12 years ago, she did not bury them in the hope that more of his remains would emerge. None did.

Internet

Texas floods: Misinformation across political spectrum sows confusion

Following deadly floods in Texas, misinformation from both left- and right-wing users was roiling social media, with liberals baselessly blaming staffing cuts at US weather agencies for flawed warning systems and conservatives ramping up conspiracy theories.

World

South Korea says to follow agreed terms on sharing defence costs after Trump's demand

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea will follow terms previously agreed with the United States on defence cost sharing, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday, following a call by U.S. President Donald Trump for Seoul to pay more for the U.S. troop presence in the country.