Bullet-proof vest, shotgun, sunglasses: Kompat Sompaorat could be mistaken for a member of a SWAT team. He actually belongs to a motley group of Thai civilians who, frustrated by their government's lacklustre response to human trafficking, have taken up arms to patrol one of Asia's busiest smuggling routes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled speech to the U.S. Congress in March could damage the Obama administration's attempts to broker a deal with Iran on nuclear weapons development, the senior U.S. House of Representatives Democrat said on Wednesday.
Japan was working closely with Jordan on Friday to find out what was happening to a Japanese journalist held by Islamic State militants after a deadline passed for the release of an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber on death-row in Jordan.
Eight Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday to repeal all restrictions on U.S. citizens' travel to Cuba, the first step in Congress toward ending the U.S. embargo since President Barack Obama moved toward normal relations last month.
