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SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s finance minister Choi Sang-mok offered to resign, the ministry said on Thursday, as parliament was set to vote whether to impeach him. (Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Joyce Lee, Ju-min Park; Editing by Peter Graff)

By Tariq Maqbool MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) – The government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has closed all religious seminaries in the region for 10 days, officials said on Thursday, citing fears they would be targeted by Indian strikes following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir. Islamabad says it has credible intelligence that India intends to …

Pakistani Kashmir closes seminaries fearing Indian military strikes Read More »

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s state prosecutor said on Thursday it will not prosecute an American academic who was arrested and charged last month with insulting the royal family, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in jail, and asked a court to free him.   Paul Chambers, a lecturer at Thailand’s Naresuan …

Thailand drops royal insult prosecution against American academic Read More »

By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – As Catholic cardinals meet to choose a new pope, they will face a big question: Is it time, after three consecutive non-Italian pontiffs, to give the papacy back to the nation that held it for most of the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church? For 455 years …

Will Italy get the papacy back after half a century of foreigners? Read More »

By Cynthia Kim SEOUL (Reuters) -In the latest twist and turn to South Korea’s political turmoil, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will inherit the role of president and prime minister from midnight on Thursday after interim leader Han Duck-soo resigned. The conservative technocrat will wield interim authority for just about a month before the June 3 …

South Korea’s finance chief Choi Sang-mok retakes charge of the country Read More »

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the assailants behind last month’s attack on tourists in Kashmir to the “ends of the earth”. India says two of the three “terrorists” involved in the attack were from arch-enemy Pakistan, although Islamabad has denied any involvement. The nuclear-armed nations have announced …

Factbox-India’s military response to previous attacks in Kashmir blamed on Pakistan Read More »

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s Supreme Court overturned on Thursday an earlier ruling that Lee Jae-myung, the frontrunner in the presidential race, was not guilty of violating the election law, throwing into doubt his eligibility to run for the presidency. (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Ju-min Park; Editing by Ed Davies)