International

Hong Kong protests dwindle, but talks with government likely to go nowhere

By Diana Chan and Donny Kwok HONG KONG Wed Oct 8, 2014 12:54am EDT (Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy protests that brought tens of thousands on to the streets last week dwindled to a few hundred on Wednesday after activist leaders agreed to talks with the government which are all but certain to go nowhere. The student-led protests have calmed since clashes with police more than a week ago and the number of protesters calling […]

Magnitude 6.2 quake strikes Mexico

(Reuters) – A magnitude 6.2 quake struck Mexico on Tuesday in the Gulf of California, 75 miles (121 km) west south-west of the city of El Dorado, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake was shallow at just 6.2 miles (10 km), and was felt inland in the city of Culiacan, the capital of the western state of Sinaloa, Culiacan emergency services spokeswoman Melva Uribe said. […]

Can the Hong Kong protesters and China compromise?

Author: Courtney J. Fung, HKU (Courtesy East Asia Forum) — Many think that compromise between China and Hong Kong protesters is impossible. Protests continue to swell and China is holding firm on its position that the designation of the 2017 electoral ballot is ultimately under Beijing’s control. But in the past there have been multiple instances of compromise between China and Hong Kong protesters after public stand-offs over similarly sensitive issues. And compromise is again […]

Hong Kong residents return to work despite protests

(Reuters) –Hong Kong residents started to return to work on Monday (October 6) after more than a week of pro-democracy protests that disrupted the Chinese-controlled city, with the protest movement facing a test of its stamina after more clashes with police and pro-Beijing opponents. Some protesters left the Mong Kok area of the city, pulling back from the scene of recent clashes with those who back the pro-Beijing government. Hong Kong security broker, Franki Chan, said the road blocks around […]

Dallas Ebola patient fighting for life, another headed to Nebraska

BY LISA MARIA GARZA AND SHARON BEGLEY (Reuters) – The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States was fighting for his life at a Dallas hospital and appeared to be receiving none of the experimental medicines for the virus, a top U.S. health official said. Thomas Eric Duncan became ill after arriving in Texas from Liberia two weeks ago, heightening concerns that the worst Ebola epidemic on record could spread from West Africa, where […]

Ebola patient in Dallas turns critical, no new U.S. cases

BY JON HERSKOVITZ AND AND LISA MARIA GARZA (Reuters) – The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States took a turn for the worse on Saturday, slipping from serious to critical condition in a Dallas hospital, as health officials reported tracking scores of possible cases around the country that proved to be false alarms. The case of Thomas Eric Duncan, who arrived in Dallas from Liberia two weeks ago, has heightened concerns that the worst epidemic […]

Islamic State says it had beheaded British hostage in new video

BY MARK HOSENBALL AND SYLVIA WESTALL (Reuters) – Islamic State militants fighting in Iraq and Syria posted a video on Friday that appeared to show the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning, triggering condemnation by the British and U.S. governments. The footage on YouTube, highlighted on pro-Islamic State Twitter feeds, showed a bearded man in an orange jumpsuit kneeling next to a black-clad man in arid scrubland, similar to past Islamic State beheading videos of two Americans […]