Israeli military braces for battle over beards
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s long-running struggle to balance modern standards with Jewish tradition has come to a head in the military, where new orders curtailing beards among soldiers have met protests from some rabbis.
Pakistan praises Oscar for film denouncing ‘honor killings’
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hailed Sunday’s Oscar win for a documentary about the practice of “honor killings”, with activists calling for changes in laws to punish those who kill women deemed to have disgraced their fam…
Myanmar parliament to change presidential elections date: document
NAYPYITAW (Reuters) – Myanmar’s democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to speed up elections of the country’s president, in a last-minute change following weeks of talks with the military that has stood by the constitution that bars her from ass…
Orban says Hungary faces ‘serious challenge’ in euro decision
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – The euro zone’s troubles are forcing its member states to forge closer integration and Hungary will have to decide in coming years whether to give up some sovereignty in economic policy and join the group, Prime Minister Viktor Orb…
Rouhani allies win most Tehran seats in clerical body: final results on IRNA
DUBAI (Reuters) – President Hassan Rouhani and his allies won 15 out of the 16 Tehran seats in the Assembly of Experts, final election results published on Monday showed, ousting two prominent hardliners including the speaker of the powerful clerical b…
NATO chief says concerned about Russian military build-up in Syria
KUWAIT (Reuters) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that a fragile truce in Syria appeared to be largely holding but the alliance was concerned by a Russian military build-up in Syria.
Lavrov, Kerry discuss Syria ceasefire plan
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday about closer cooperation between their countries’ militaries on the Syria ceasefire plan, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Mo…
Philippines asks China to respect sea dispute arbitration
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines on Monday urged China to respect a forthcoming ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague on a territorial dispute in the South China Sea after Beijing accused Manila of “political provocation”.
Dutch find 10 Syrian war crime suspects among thousand of migrants
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch authorities identified about 30 war crimes suspects, a third of them Syrians, among the 59,000 people who applied for asylum last year, the immigration minister said on Monday.
Indonesia hopes village spending will counter radicalism
SERANG, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesia, on alert against rising militancy, will boost the state funds it sends directly to thousands of villages across the Muslim-majority country to reduce poverty and counter radicalism, a senior cabinet minister sai…
