NATO scrambles jets after deepest drone breach yet into Romania

BUCHAREST (Reuters) -Romanian and German NATO fighter jets were scrambled on Tuesday near Romania's border with Ukraine to respond to a drone incursion that penetrated deeper than ever into Romanian airspace, in what Bucharest called a Russian provocation. Defence Minister Ionut Mosteanu said the NATO pilots came close to shooting down a drone which had repeatedly...

Exclusive-US threatens to cut intel, weapons to press Ukraine into peace deal – sources

KYIV/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies for Ukraine to press it into agreeing to the framework of a U.S.-brokered peace deal, two people familiar with the matter said. Washington has presented Ukraine with a 28-point plan, which endorses some of Russia's principal demands in the war, including that...

Cambodian health clinic owner jailed for five years over fatal injection, dumping of patient’s body

PHNOM PENH: The owner of Songhak Marina Maternity and Treatment Clinic, who administered a fatal injection to a patient last year and subsequently dumped the victim’s body, has been sentenced by to 5 years in prison, while her husband received a one-year sentence. On November 17, the Takeo Provincial Court sentenced Sun Marina, 39, to a...

Japan counts cost of China’s travel boycott as tensions flare

TOKYO: Within days of China urging its citizens not to travel to Japan due to a diplomatic dispute, Tokyo-based tour operator East Japan International Travel Service had lost 80% of its bookings for the remainder of the year. The small firm, which specialises in group tours largely for Chinese clients, is at the sharp end of...

Analysis-Hasina’s death sentence sets stage for volatile Bangladesh vote

DHAKA (Reuters) -A Bangladeshi court’s decision to sentence exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to death has done little to heal a nation scarred by her long rule and last year’s bloody crackdown against student-led, anti-government protests. Families of the victims want her immediate execution. The government demanded her extradition from India where she fled last...

Ukraine needs more drones and better tactics, senior commander says

KYIV (Reuters) -As winter looms and Russian forces adapt their tactics, Ukrainian troops need to double down on technological innovation and flood the front line with more drones to halt Moscow's territorial gains, a senior commander said. Oleksandr Pivnenko, head of Ukraine's National Guard, said Russia continued to have the manpower advantage after nearly four years...

Paris police shoot and wound man armed with knife at rail station

PARIS (Reuters) -French police shot and wounded a knife-wielding man at Paris' Montparnasse train station on Friday, the Paris prosecutor's office said. An officer used his "weapon" on the man, who then inflicted knife wounds on himself, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. A police source said the man had threatened his wife and children in...

Exclusive-Russia plans to make up to 120,000 glide bombs this year, Ukrainian intelligence says

KYIV (Reuters) -Russia plans to manufacture up to 120,000 of its cheap and devastating glide bombs this year, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said, including 500 of a new, longer-range version which can reach more towns and cities. Russia has ramped up arms production massively since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with defence plants...

Philippine political veteran Juan Ponce Enrile, key Marcos Sr-era figure, dies at 101

MANILA (Reuters) -Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the most enduring and polarising figures in Philippine politics, who played a central role during the rule of the late Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos Sr, died on Thursday at the age of 101, his daughter said. Enrile's death ends a political career spanning more than six decades under eight...

Tanzania president names new prime minister after disputed election

(Reuters) -Tanzania's leader chose a longtime loyalist as prime minister on Thursday, after a disputed presidential election in the East African country prompted clashes in which rights groups say hundreds of protesters were killed. The parliament backed the appointment of former finance minister Mwigulu Nchemba in a near-unanimous vote, as expected given that President Samia Suluhu...