World

Uncompromising Tanzania opposition leader Lissu faces new challenge with treason charge

NAIROBI/DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu survived being shot 16 times in 2017 and has been arrested on multiple occasions, but now faces an even more grave challenge after being charged with treason, a capital offence, following his calls for electoral reform.

World

Incumbent, leftist to face off in tight Ecuador race dominated by crime and job concerns

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadoreans will head to the polls on Sunday to cast ballots in what is expected to be an extremely tight race for president, with both incumbent Daniel Noboa and his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez pledging to tackle drug gangs and improve the struggling economy.

World

EU to target nine Iranians over citizen detentions, diplomats say

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers will target nine Iranians linked to what the bloc calls a policy of state-sponsored hostage-taking in new sanctions expected to be adopted on Monday, two European diplomats said.

World

Germany's Pistorius says Russia is still not interested in peace

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia is still not interested in peace, Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday, adding that Russia needs to understand that Ukraine is able to go on fighting.

World

South Korea's ousted Yoon moves back to apartment with 11 pets, security

SEOUL (Reuters) - Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol moved back on Friday with his wife and their 11 dogs and cats to their apartment in an upscale district of Seoul, close to the prosecutors' office where the impeached leader worked before entering politics.

AseanPlus News

EU leaders plan trip to Beijing in July for summit with Xi Jinping

No date confirmed with the Chinese side as travel plan indicates serious effort to re-engage amid collapsed relationship with the US

World

Ukraine set to extend martial law again, pushing back prospect of elections

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian lawmakers are almost certain to extend martial law again before it expires on May 9, the parliamentary speaker has said, determined to uphold democracy even as the United States and Russia pressure Kyiv to hold a new vote.

World

Putin investment envoy Dmitriev met Trump special envoy Witkoff in St. Petersburg, TASS says

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev met U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday in St. Petersburg, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

World

Brain drain? Trump cutbacks force scientists to seek jobs in Europe

GENEVA (Reuters) - David Die Dejean is passionate about studying tuna. Last year, he landed a dream job at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Miami to pursue his research. By January, he was settled in, had received a good review and loved working with his colleagues, he said.

World

Italy's sex workers get business code in a step out of shadows

ROME (Reuters) - Italy has made its first direct reference to prostitution in the business classification it uses for data collection and tax purposes, the national statistics institute said, including escort services, events and the management of premises.

World

Syria's Sharaa grants three-month extension to committee probing coastal killings

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has extended a deadline for a fact-finding committee to produce its report on the killings of Alawites on Syria's coast last month, the deadliest episode of sectarian violence since Sunni Islamist rebels seized power.

World

Jailed Istanbul mayor faces court hearing for allegedly insulting prosecutor

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a leading rival of Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, will appear before a court on Friday for the first time since his high-profile arrest last month, over earlier accusations of insulting a prosecutor.

World

Iran's 'master negotiator' tasked with averting war

DUBAI (Reuters) - Abbas Araqchi, Iran's seasoned top diplomat, faces one of his most delicate challenges ever this weekend as he prepares to lead talks with the U.S. to secure a new nuclear deal and avert a military strike against the Islamic Republic.

World

Russia's top diplomat hails US-Russia prisoner swaps amid reports of Trump envoy visit

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that prisoner swaps between Russia and the U.S. helped to cement trust between the two countries at a time when they are trying to rebuild their ties.

World

Iran is giving talks with US a 'genuine chance', foreign ministry says

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran is giving talks with its arch foe the United States this weekend "a genuine chance", the Iranian foreign ministry's spokesperson posted on X on Friday.

Smartphones

One Tech Tip: Locking down your device when crossing borders

Planning an international trip? Travellers should prepare for the possibility of extra scrutiny of their phones when crossing borders, especially when entering the United States.

World

EU brainstorms on how to avert - or brace for - US tariffs as 90-day window opens

WARSAW (Reuters) - With higher U.S. tariffs postponed by 90 days, European Union finance ministers will brainstorm on Friday how to use that time to reach a trade deal with Washington and how to coordinate their efforts to handle higher levies if they are unsuccessful.

World

Ousted South Korean President Yoon set to leave official residence

SEOUL (Reuters) - Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is due to return to his private home on Friday from the official residence, with crowds of both supporters and opponents expected to turn out to greet his motorcade after his removal from office a week ago.

World

Trump seeks to revoke immigrants' Social Security numbers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration aims to convince some immigrants without legal status to self-deport by adding them to a database of dead people, thus rendering their Social Security numbers inoperable, an administration official told Reuters.

World

Top Democrat says new Gabbard task force is 'witch hunt' in spy agencies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate's intelligence committee on Thursday said he suspected a task force formed by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was pursuing a "witch hunt" for intelligence officers it deems disloyal to President Donald Trump.