Australian asylum policies under fire at U.N. rights review
GENEVA (Reuters) – Australia was criticized on Monday at the United Nations for its offshore processing of asylum claims, detention of child migrants and reports it had sent back legitimate refugees.
Merkel backs dissident ally after coalition row on refugee crisis
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed her interior minister on Monday in a row over asylum seekers, seeking to heal divisions within her coalition on how to handle the refugee crisis.
Divided and defeated, Turkey opposition faces decade in wilderness
ANKARA (Reuters) – In the space of just five months the Turkish opposition’s dreams of coalition government have vanished, swept away by a resounding election defeat that could consign them to another decade in the wilderness.
Catalan assembly votes to start process of breaking from Spain
MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s regional assembly on Monday passed a resolution calling for secession from Spain, energizing a drive towards independence and deepening a standoff with central government in Madrid.
Pope stumbles in church for second time in three days
ROME (Reuters) – Pope Francis had to be helped up the steps to an altar at a Rome basilica on Monday after stumbling in public for the second time in three days.
Colombia rebels reject proposal for ratifying peace agreement
HAVANA (Reuters) – Colombia’s leftist FARC rebels on Monday rejected a proposed law under debate in the Andean country’s Congress for creating a plebiscite to give the voters final approval over any peace plan.
Suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers kill three Nigerian refugees in Cameroon
YAOUNDE (Reuters) – Two female suicide bombers, suspected of belonging to Islamist militant group Boko Haram, killed three Nigerians in a truck full of refugees in a town in Cameroon’s Far North region, a local government source said.
Facing crucial vote, Portugal PM warns country cannot abandon reforms
LISBON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, whose government faces a vote that may topple it in the opposition-dominated parliament, warned on Monday that leaving the path of reforms and meeting euro zone commitments would be ruinous for Por…
Israel believes Russian plane that crashed in Sinai was bombed
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel believes the Russian passenger plane that crashed in the neighboring Egyptian Sinai on Oct. 31 was brought down by militants who probably used a bomb, Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Monday.
Kosovo fails in bid to gain UNESCO membership
PARIS (Reuters) – The United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO narrowly voted against granting Kosovo full membership on Monday in a decision that Serbia hailed as a diplomatic victory.
