Colombia rebel leaders’ political participation undecided after deal
BOGOTA (Reuters) – It remains undecided whether leaders of Colombia’s Marxist FARC guerrillas sentenced for human rights violations under the country’s new justice accord with the rebels would be allowed to someday enter politics, the head of Bogota’s …
Pakistani pilgrim saved wheelchair-bound wife from haj stampede
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – A Pakistani teacher has described how he saved his wife from a deadly stampede in Saudi Arabia by pulling her from her wheelchair as fellow haj pilgrims were trampled to death around them.
Germany jails Rwandan for Congo war crimes
BERLIN (Reuters) – A German court jailed the former political leader of a Rwandan rebel group on Monday for abetting war crimes committed in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from his European exile.
Victorious Catalan separatists claim mandate to break with Spain
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Separatists on Sunday won a clear majority of seats in Catalonia’s parliament in an election that sets the region on a collision course with Spain’s central government over independence.
Sons of Indian haj victims desperate to know how parents perished
JARGAL, India (Reuters) – Firojsha Aiyubsha and his two brothers only found out that their parents had died in last week’s stampede during the haj in Saudi Arabia when a boy from their village deep in western India spotted the names on the Internet.
Thai king still in hospital but illnesses abating: palace
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has mostly recovered from illnesses that left him needing oxygen and intravenous feeding, the palace said on Monday.
German president warns of limits to number of refugees
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s president has warned that there are limits to how many refugees his country can absorb as it prepares for as many as 800,000 arrivals this year, showing growing concern even at the highest level over how to look after so ma…
Bid to revive Miss Iraq pageant draws ire of hardline clerics, tribal leaders
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The first internationally-recognized Miss Iraq beauty contest in more than 40 years was supposed to present a gentler, softer side to a country whose name has become synonymous with violence and bloodshed.
Lebanese journalist fined for contempt of court in Hariri murder case
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – A judge in The Hague on Monday fined a Lebanese journalist 10,000 euros ($11,000) for contempt of court in the case against the alleged killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Russia props up Assad as he reinforces coastal heartland
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Russia’s military build-up in Syria is aimed mainly at propping up President Bashar al-Assad and helping him reinforce his threatened coastal heartland, where he is seeking to bolster the communities that form his power base as his army falters.
