Mauritania commits to ending modern-day slavery
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Mauritania has vowed to ramp up its fight against slavery, becoming the second African country to approve a United Nations treaty designed to give countries the legal muscle to combat forced labor and trafficking.
French government retreats on labour reform bill
PARIS (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Manuel Valls retreated on one of the central planks of the government’s labour reform bill on Monday after protests against the measures, dividing unions and angering business leaders.
Myanmar military questions Suu Kyi picks ahead of presidential vote
NAYPYITAW (Reuters) – Myanmar’s powerful military questioned Aung San Suu Kyi’s picks for president and vice president on Monday as tension simmered between the two sides a day before parliament votes on who should get the top job.
Portuguese opposition allows approval of refugee aid for Turkey, Greek loans
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s divided parliament on Monday approved Lisbon’s contribution to a European Union aid package to help Turkey deal with the migrant crisis and to new bailout loans for Greece, thanks to a last-minute change of mind by the mai…
U.N. rights envoy urges prosecution of North Korean leader
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations’ human rights investigator for North Korea called on Monday for its leader Kim Jong Un and senior officials to be prosecuted for committing crimes against humanity.
Impeachment won’t solve Brazil economic crisis: Rousseff minister
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s chief of staff said on Monday that her impeachment is not the solution for Brazil’s economic crisis and the government will fight to block it in Congress.
Proximity along contact line in east Ukraine raises violence risks: OSCE
BERLIN (Reuters) – International monitors want Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists to pull further apart along the line of contact in east Ukraine, a senior official with Europe’s main security and rights watchdog said on Monday.
EU wrestles with rights, Cyprus to seal Turkey migrant deal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU officials are racing to overcome legal concerns on human rights and tensions between Turkey and Cyprus in order to complete a deal they hope can stem the migrant crisis when leaders meet later this week.
Bloodied but unbowed, Merkel sticks to high-stakes migrant policy
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on Monday to press on with her migrant policy despite seeing her Christian Democrats (CDU) party punished by voters who flocked to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Sunday’s three re…
Latest sanctions on North Korea starting to bite – U.S. envoy
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States is concerned about North Korea’s investment in nuclear weapons, but there are signs that fresh U.N. sanctions are starting to hurt Pyongyang, the U.S. envoy for human rights in North Korea told Reuters on Monday.
